One Killed during Protests over Monk’s Detention in Bangladesh
NEW DELHI, Nov 26: At least one person was killed after violence broke out during peaceful protests staged demanding the release of Hindu religious leader and International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu on Tuesday.
Reports of violence came from Chittagong high court where protesters faced police action. Protesters sustained injuries when police hurled sound grenades and baton-charged those demanding the monk’s release. The supporters of the Hindu leader clashed with security forces after the outspoken monk was denied bail on sedition charges.
Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, the spokesman of the newly-formed Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group, was arrested as he travelled from Dhaka to Chittagong on Monday leading protests calling for the protection of the minority. The monk is facing a case of sedition in Bangladesh. The prosecutors allege that Chinmoy along with 19 others disrespected the Bangladesh national flag.
The court rejected the bail application and ordered that the monk remain in jail. Hindu groups in Bangladesh allege these are steps taken by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to antagonise Bengali Hindus, a minority in Bangladesh.
They also claim that Chinmoy was being targeted because he spoke up against the atrocities faced by Hindu Bengalis since the regime change that saw Sheikh Hasina ousted in the face of protests against government jobs quota and led to deaths of more than 100 people.
One of the protesters in front of the court said “Islamist forces” attacked Hindu protesters gathered there. “Islamist forces also attacked Hindus outside court. We are not safe. Tensions (are) still going on. Sound bullets and tear gas shells were lobbed at us,” he said.
Religious relations have been turbulent in Bangladesh since a student-led revolution forced long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighbouring India. On Tuesday supporters angry that bail was denied, surrounded the prison van carrying him away from court in Chittagong. Others hurled rocks.
Security forces lobbed stun grenades and launched baton charges to break the crowd, and Brahmachari was eventually taken to prison in a police pickup truck. Nurul Alam, a police inspector posted at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said a public prosecutor had been killed, identifying him as Saiful Islam Alif.
“He had deep injuries on his head,” said hospital director Taslim Uddin. In the immediate chaotic days following Hasina’s ouster, there was a string of reprisals on Hindus — seen by some as disproportionate supporters of her regime — as well as attacks on Muslim Sufi shrines by Islamist hardliners.
Islamist groups have been emboldened to take to the streets after years of being suppressed, and Hindu groups have rallied in counter-demonstrations. Hindus are the largest minority faith in Bangladesh, accounting for around eight percent of the population.
The Indian foreign ministry said they had “noted with deep concern” the arrest of Brahmachari. “This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh,” New Delhi said in a statement.
(Manas Dasgupta)
