Chattogram court in Bangladesh, is likely to hear the bail plea of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das today after no lawyer appeared to represent him in the last hearing that was on December 3, 2024. No lawyer turned up to the hearing due to fears of threat and pressure from a “politically motivated lawyers group”. The spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote and a former priest of ISKCON, Chinmoy Krishna Das, were arrested on alleged sedition charges on November 25, from Dhaka Airport.
He has been in jail since 26 November. Earlier on Sunday, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council had demanded the release of Das in a statement sent by the council. The statement signed by acting general secretary of the council Manindra Kumar Nath stated that the sedition case filed against 19 people, including Chinmoy Krishna Das, is false and harassing. And, the council demands that the government acquit them in this case.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, last year, many incidents of violence and vandalism were reported against minorities in Bangladesh. Chinmoy Krishna Das and Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote have been advocating on behalf of the Sanatani or Hindu community across Bangladesh, raising eight-point demands for the safety and rights of minorities. Following massive public rallies of the Hindu community at Chittagong on October 25 and at Rangpur, North Bangladesh on November 22, Chinmoy Prabhu created a sensation in the Socio-political circle of Bangladesh. On October 30, a sedition case was filed against Chinmoy Krishna Das and 18 others at Kotwali Police Station in Chittagong on grounds of allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above the official flag of Bangladesh during a public rally at Chattogram’s Laldighi Maidan on October 25.
Das was arrested by the Dhaka police on 25 November 2024 from Dhaka airport while he had reached there to catch a flight to Chittagong. Following his arrest, members of the Hindu Community protested against the arrest of Das across Bangladesh and they demanded immediate release of him. The following day, the Chittagong court sent him to jail after rejecting his bail plea. ISKCON Bangladesh had denounced the arrest of Das and condemned the subsequent violence and attacks on Hindus. It urged the Bangladesh government to promote peace between communities. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs expressed concern over his arrest and urged the Bangladeshi government to ensure the safety and protection of minority communities, emphasizing their right to peaceful assembly. The United Kingdom Parliament members expressed concerns regarding the arrest of Das and the recent violence targeting the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.