Days after the arrest of spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, another Hindu priest was arrested in Bangladesh's Chattogram, sources said on Saturday. The arrested priest was identified as Shyam Das Prabhu, who reportedly went to meet Chinmoy Krishna Das in jail.
He was arrested without any official warrant, the sources said, adding that the practice allows authorities to detain someone and later release him.
Radharamn Das, vice president and spokesperson of ISKCON Kolkata also posted about the monk's arrest on X (formally Twitter) on Friday and said, “Today, another Brahmachari Sri Shyam Das Prabhu was arrested by Chattogram police.”
Another Brahmachari Sri Shyam Das Prabhu was arrested by Chattogram police today. #ISKCON #Bangladesh#SaveBangladesh Hindus pic.twitter.com/DTpytXRQeP
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 29, 2024
Arrest and violence of Hindu monks in Bangladesh
Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former member of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) of Bangladesh, was arrested on Monday in connection with a sedition case. His arrest sparked protests by members of the Hindu community in several locations in Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka and Chattogram.
Chinmoy Krishna Das was denied bail by a Chattogram court on Tuesday following clashes between police and protesters demanding his release. Assistant District Attorney Saiful Islam was killed during the clashes.
Bangladesh police have so far arrested nine persons in connection with the lawyer's murder, police said on Saturday. They were arrested after a case was filed against 46 people, mostly cleaning staff belonging to the Hindu minority community.
Meanwhile, three Hindu temples were vandalized by a slogan-shouting mob in Chattogram on Friday, where protests and violence have taken place since a former ISKCON member was charged with sedition.
The attack took place at around 2.30 pm at Harish Chandra Munsef Lane in the port city, where Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, nearby Shoni Temple and Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted, news portal BDNews24.com reported.
“A group of hundreds of slogan-shouting people threw brickbats at the temples, damaging the Shoni Temple and the gates of the other two temples,” the news portal quoted temple authorities as saying.
Abdul Karim, chief of Kotwali police station, confirmed the attack and said the attackers tried to damage the temples.
Violence against minorities in Bangladesh
Chinmoy Krishna Das' arrest came amid tensions over minority rights in Bangladesh, where there has been widespread political violence since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the new military-backed interim government led by Mohammed Yunus has been criticized for failing to curb a spike in violence against minorities.
Hindus make up about 8 percent of Bangladesh's 170 million people.
Trimamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee spoke about the issue of oppression of minorities in Bangladesh and asked the union government to raise the issue with their Bangladeshi counterpart in the “strongest manner”.
“I have made my position clear that you must follow the constitution of the country and that the state has no role in it. It is up to the Union government to take this up with the government of Bangladesh in the strongest manner or in the language they understand. ” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
