Kolkata: Protests broke out in several parts of Bangladesh and Kolkata after Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who is also a spokesperson for Bangladesh-based minority association Sanatan Jagran Mancha, was sent to jail on charges of sedition by a Chittagong court Tuesday. The court issued the order amid protests by a large crowd of his followers outside the premises, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Brahmachari—associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISCKON)—had been detained at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday.
After the court order, defence counsel Swarup Kanti Nath told media persons, “During the bail hearing, we argued that the case is baseless and conspiratorial. Chinmoy Krishna has not committed any anti-state activities. Despite this, the court denied bail, but directed that he be afforded divisional status in jail.”
Bangladeshi news portal bdnews424.com reported that law enforcement officials had to disperse the massive crowd of supporters that had gathered at the court premises by throwing sound grenades. But even as the crowd dispersed from the court premises, protests broke out elsewhere in Chittagong, besides other parts of Bangladesh, according to the report.
Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo reported that an assistant public prosecutor, Saiful Islam, was killed in the clash. “Eight other people are receiving treatment at the hospital for injuries sustained during the clash… Meanwhile, the General Hospital of the city provided first aid to 19 more injured people,” the report read.
Speaking to ThePrint via phone, Bangladeshi blogger Azam Khan said that police officials, members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party cadres allegedly attacked members of the Hindu community in several areas in Bangladesh. “Bangladeshi Hindus came under targeted attacks after Brahmachari was sent to jail on Tuesday. Hindu temples, shops and residences were attacked by mobs chanting ‘Nara e Takbeer’,” Khan said.
Khan, who shared videos of some of these alleged attacks on his Facebook page, said that the police and law enforcement officials were “mute bystanders and, in some cases, active participants” in the mob violence against Hindus.
“Chittagong’s Hazari Lane Kali Mandir was attacked by a mob. Unverified news of attacks on other temples in Bangladesh flooded social media. There is unrest across Bangladesh as radicals seem to have a free reign,” Hindu rights activist Jayanta Karmakar told ThePrint over the phone.
ISKCON spokesperson Radharamn Das shared a video on X saying that a mob in Chittagong had moved towards Hindu settlement chanting the slogan: ‘Catch ISKCON-nites/Hindus one by one and slaughter them’. “Very tense situation & very long night tonight. Please pray for Bangladeshi Hindus,” Das wrote.
Right now, Islamic mob in Chittagong, going towards Hindu settalments & chanting slogan: "Ekta Ekta
ISKCON-nite (Hindu) dhor, dhoira dhoira Jobai kor", which means " one by one catch ISKCON-nite/Hindus & after catching them, slaughter them."Very tense situation & very long… pic.twitter.com/kZKu3kNpSn
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 26, 2024
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh foreign ministry reacted strongly to India’s statement on the arrest of Brahmachari and persistent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. “Such unfounded statements not only misrepresent facts, but also stand contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries,” the Bangladeshi foreign ministry has said.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said in its statement: “We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh.”
The turmoil in Bangladesh spilled over to West Bengal as the Bharatiya Janata Party announced that it would agitate along the state’s India-Bangladesh border to demand Brahmachari’s release. Leader of Opposition in the Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, held a protest at the assembly premises with party MLAs after Brahmachari was sent to jail.
“We are holding our first protest rally at Behala this evening. BJP legislators will gherao the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Hindu Jagran Manch will hold a procession from Sealdah station to the deputy high commission on Thursday and our legislators will stage protests along the Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas district on Friday,” Adhikari said.