Hindu monk Chinmoy Das' bail plea rejected by court in Bangladesh

Chattogram's Metropolitan Sessions court denied bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on November 25 in connection with a sedition case

The Bangladesh court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Das. He was arrested on November 25 last year.   The bail plea, presented by a group of 11 Supreme Court lawyers who travelled from Dhaka to Chattogram, was denied by Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam after a 30-minute hearing, according to Dhaka's The Daily Star.  Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5 last year, Bangladesh's Hindu minority, making up about 8 per cent of the 170 million population, has faced numerous attacks across more than 50 districts. 

Radha Raman Das, Vice President of Iskcon Kolkata, expressed his disappointment, adding that the world had anticipated his release with the arrival of the new year.

 

 

"It's very sad news. We know that the entire world was keeping an eye on this. Everyone was expecting Chinmoy Prabhu will get freedom in the new year - but even after 42 days, his bail was rejected in a hearing today," Radha Raman Das said, as reported by news agency ANI.

 

He further added, "Bangladesh government should ensure that he gets justice. We are hearing that he is not well but still keeping him in confinement is not correct. We all know that Chinmay became a face of minorities in Bangladesh and the minorities see him as a ray of hope."

   

Who is Chinmoy Krishna Das?

 

Chinmoy Krishna Das, a key figure in the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested and denied bail in a sedition case. The group advocates for the rights and protection of minorities in the country. Das has been a supporter of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, calling for the implementation of a minority protection law, the creation of a tribunal to expedite cases of minority persecution, and the establishment of a separate ministry for minority affairs.

 

Why was Das arrested?

 

Das was taken into custody following the filing of a sedition case against him and 18 others in Chittagong on October 30. The charges were linked to the display of a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag during the rally at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram on October 25. He was presented in court, where his bail was denied, leading to his detention.