Another Hindu Priest Arrested in Bangladesh
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 30: Days after the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, another Hindu priest Shyam Das Prabhu, was arrested in Bangladesh’s Chattogram, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Kolkata said on Saturday. The arrested priest had 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 release them later.
Radharamn Das, Vice-President and Spokesperson, ISKCON Kolkata also posted about the monk’s arrest on X and said, “Another Brahmachari Sri Shyam Das Prabhu was arrested by Chattogram Police today.”
The development comes days after the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Vaishnavite leader and one-time member of ISKCON in Bangladesh, on November 25. Das’ arrest prompted protests demandng his release in Dhaka’s Shahbag neighbourhood and Chittagong, where he is based.
Since then, clashes intensified. On November 26, assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam, the lawyer of Chinmoy Krishna Das, was killed during clashes between the security personnel and followers of the Hindu leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chittagong court, police said. Based on CCTV footage of the violence, authorities have reportedly arrested at least six people belonging to the Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League which was banned by the government in October.
The same day, a war of words broke out between India and Bangladesh after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the arrest and denial of bail to the priest as “unfortunate” and expressed “deep concern” over incidents targeting minority communities in Bangladesh. The MEA’s statement called upon the interim government of Bangladesh to “ensure safety and security of Hindus and all minorities.”
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 persons, mostly cleanliness workers belonging to the minority Hindu community.
Meanwhile, three Hindu temples were vandalised by a slogan-shouting mob on Friday in Chattogram, which has witnessed protests and violence since a former ISKCON member was booked under sedition charges. The attack took place around 2:30 pm in the port city’s Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted, local media reports said.
“A group of several hundred 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. Kotwali Police Station chief Abdul Karim confirmed the attack, saying that assailants attempted to damage the temples.
Chinmoy Krishna Das’s arrest came amid tensions over minority rights in Bangladesh, which has seen widespread political violence since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. The new military-backed interim government led by Mohammed Yunus has faced criticism for failing to curb a spike in violence against minorities. Hindus comprise approximately 8 per cent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people.
Speaking on the issue of oppression of minorities in Bangladesh, Trimamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee asked the union government to take up the matter with their Bangladeshi counterpart in the “strongest manner.”
“I have cleared my stand that you have to follow the Constitution of the country and the state has no role in it. The onus is on the Union government to take it up with the Bangladesh government in the strongest manner or in the language they understand,” he said
