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Bangladesh Court Rejects Chinmoy Krishna Das’s Bail Plea

On Thursday (January 2), a court in Bangladesh’s Chattogram rejected the bail plea of the jailed Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.

The Dhaka Police arrested Chinmoy on November 25. The arrest was in connection with a sedition case. Chinmoy Krishna Das is a Hindu priest and former International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

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The bail plea was sought by a team of 11 Supreme Court lawyers who had traveled to Chattogram from Dhaka. According to reports, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Saiful Islam rejected the bail. This comes after about 30 minutes of hearing both parties.

According to The Daily Star, Chinmoy Krishna Das was not presented in court on Thursday. The hearing on Thursday was held under tight security. This comes a month after no lawyer could step in to represent Chinmoy in the Chattogram.

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Chinmoy faces serious charges of sedition for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag during a rally in Chattogram. Das was presented before the court for the hearing of a bail petition.

Kolkata ISKCON Vice President Radharaman Das called the development “unfortunate”. “We all were very hopeful that he would get bail today. He is a monk and was in jail for the last 42 days. We also heard that his health is not good. But if his bail has been rejected then this is very unfortunate. We will see why the judge refused the bail”.

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Meanwhile, a team of 11 lawyers was led by senior advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee. Kumar is the spokesperson of the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote. Chinmoy Krishna Das is also a member of the organization. Chinmoy’s lawyer Bhattacharjee, said that they plan to appeal to the High Court for bail.

Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya spoke to the Dhaka-based Business Standard. Apurba said, “We presented our arguments before the court. The prosecution opposed the bail. The court rejected it. We will take the next step by moving to the higher court”.

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In addition, Chinmoy Krishna Das’s previous lawyer, Rabindranath Ghosh, tried to get legal help for him in December. However, Gosh is admitted to Kolkata’s Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital after experiencing sudden chest pain.

Ghosh, also a Supreme Court lawyer, tried to seek relief for Chinmoy a week after his arrest. The 75-year-old senior lawyer said he was harassed and attacked outside the court when he went to file the bail petition in December. Hundreds of lawyers crowded the courtroom during the hearing, creating chaos.

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Now all these incidents add to the growing list of troubling trends of violence against the Minority community in Bangladesh. All this began in August after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government was ousted following student-led protests. The protests, initially sparked by demands for job quota reforms, escalated into a nationwide movement that claimed over 600 lives.

Since then the country has witnessed a surge in communal tensions and violence. The transition to an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has been marked by repeated attacks on Hindu minorities.

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Now what’s shocking is that not many in Bangladesh would have known Das a few months back. However, it was the attacks on Hindus and the Hindu temples in Bangladesh that led to complete chaos.

Das’s recognition and his supporters grew larger after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August which saw the 38-year-old monk rise to prominence. In a span of a few months, Chinmoy Krishna Das became the biggest leader of Hindus in Bangladesh, drawing lakhs of people to his rallies.

The situation has also seen the detention of two monks and other associates connected to Chinmoy on November 29.

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