Amid reports of continuing persecution of Hindus since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh, ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari has been arrested over sedition charges at Dhaka airport as he was leaving the country, media reports said.
The Bangladesh authorities filed a case against Brahmachari, who has been vocal over violence against Hindus and other religious minorities, on October 30.
Besides him, the sedition case charged 18 others for allegedly hoisting a saffron flag over Bangladesh’s national flag at Chittagong’s New Market intersection on October 25.
On Monday, when Brahmachari was leaving the country, he was stopped by the Bangladeshi authorities and taken to a police station.
The Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), a New Delhi-based think tank, condemned the arrest and demanded his immediate release.
Violence against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh has escalated ever since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The new interim government of Mohammed Yunus, backed by the military and agitating groups, has been widely criticised for failing to curb the violence against minorities.
Arrest sparks strong protest
The move to arrest a prominent ISKCON leader is being seen as a message to silence the wider Hindu community.
“The sedition case was filed to ensure that the Hindu minorities cannot organise and exercise their right to freedom of association and assembly to highlight human rights violations. This is the same tactic followed by Dr Muhammad Yunus’ regime in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) where four hill tribes were killed, over 70 were injured and hundreds of houses and business establishments were burnt on September 19 & 20 after the tribal students organised the biggest protests on September 18 at Khagrachari Sadar in the CHTs,” Suhas Chakma, director of the RRAG, was quoted as saying by etvbharat.
At a rally last month, Brahmachari had reportedly said, “If anyone wants to evict us from this country and live in peace, it will become Afghanistan or Syria. There will be no democratic force. Bangladesh will become a sanctuary of communalism.”
The RRAG has demanded an immediate release of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
“Dr Yunus is turning out to be a dictator invoking sedition to silence critics too. On October 9, a case of sedition and defamation was filed against Tapashee Tabassum Urmi, the suspended assistant commissioner of Lalmonirhat in Khulna after she allegedly made negative comments against Dr Yunus,” added Chakma.
Senior Advisor at India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, condemned the arrest.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, has expressed his strong concerns for the Hindus of Bangladesh following the arrest of Chinmoy Prabhu, a face of protest in Bangladesh against the atrocities on Hindu Minorities. The BJP leader threatened to block all services from India to Dhaka along the West Bengal border if the religious leader is not freed immediately.
He also threatened to gherao the office of the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata along with the blockade.
Over 2,000 cases of alleged attacks on religious minorities have been reported since August 5, after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
Mohammad Yunus has described the violence as attacks for being supporters of the Awami League, without any proper investigation.
