- विज्ञापन -
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has voiced alarm and concern regarding a “false and harassing case” filed against 70 minority lawyers and two journalists in Chittagong. The case, lodged at the Kotwali police station on November 30, accuses them of involvement in crude bomb explosions and vehicle vandalism.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the council indicated that the case appears to have been initiated with a hidden agenda to hinder a sedition case against ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari and to suppress the reporting of related news. They argued that this action undermines human rights and the rule of law. The council has called on the Bangladeshi government and law enforcement to promptly retract the accusations and take immediate steps to release the detained lawyers and journalists.
In a related development, ISKCON Kolkata reported that Bangladeshi authorities arrested two monks, Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari, as well as Chinmoy Krishna Das’s secretary. ISKCON Kolkata’s Vice President, Radha Raman, stated in a video that the monks were taken into custody by police last Friday while returning from a meeting with Chinmoy Krishna Das, who had been arrested on charges of sedition on November 25. Additionally, there are reports of vandalism at the ISKCON center in Bangladesh.
Tensions have escalated in the country since Chinmoy Krishna Das was charged with sedition for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chittagong on October 25. Following his arrest, a lawyer was killed during clashes between police and purported followers of the guru on November 27. On Friday, the Indian government expressed concern regarding the increase in “extremist rhetoric, rising violence, and provocations” in Bangladesh, affirming that it has consistently raised issues related to targeted attacks on Hindus and other minority groups with the Bangladeshi authorities.
