• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:45 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Bangladeshi Hindus Plight: Two other Hindu priests have been arrested in Bangladesh, ISKCON Kolkata's Vice-President and spokesperson Radharamn Das said, days after the arrest of prominent Bangladeshi Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition and several other charges. 

In a self-made video released on Saturday, the ISCKON official identified the duo as Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari. He claimed that the priests were arrested while they were returning after meeting Chinmoy Das in jail. Radharamn said that the information available to him suggests that even Chinmoy Das' secretary has been arrested.

"On November 29, when Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari were returning after meeting Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu, they were arrested by the police. We are also getting information that the secretary of Chinmoy Krishna Das has also been arrested," Radharamn said in the video.

He added, "Rioters have also vandalised an ISKCON centre in Bangladesh. Such incidents are not coming to a stop and we are feeling helpless. I urge all followers and devotees across the world to visit their nearest ISKCON temples and pray for the minorities of Bangladesh. God is our last resort."

"Does he look like a terrorist?#FreeISKCONMonks Bangladesh. The arrest of innocent #ISKCON brahmacharis are deeply shocking & disturbing," Radharamn said while sharing a photo of Shyam Das on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Chinmoy Das, the leader of Hindu group 'Sammilita Sanatani Jote', was arrested from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday. The arrest sparked protests by his supporters in both Dhaka and Chattogram. A violent clash between Chinmoy Das's supporters and security forces outside a court in Chattogram left a public prosecutor dead.

The clash broke out when his supporters surrounded the prison van that was carrying the Hindu leader, after the court denied him bail. Chinmoy Das, who was once associated with ISKCON, faces allegations that he disrespected Bangladesh's national flag during a rally in Chattogram.

His arrest came amidst growing calls from a section of Bangladesh's populace, especially from radical quarters, to ban ISKCON in the country. The monk has, in recent months, emerged as one of the leading faces of resistance within the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh, where minorities have faced increasing atrocities at the hands of radical Islamists ever since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from the helm of the government in August this year.

(With inputs from agencies)


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