Bangladesh: Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das now slapped with murder charge

Dhaka: Prominent Hindu leader and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, Chinmoy Krishna Das, was shown arrested on charges of the murder of Chittagong court lawyer Saiful Islam Alif by a local court on Monday. The lawyer was allegedly hacked to death outside the court premises on November 7 last year.

Chittagong’s Metropolitan Magistrate S M Alauddin granted the police application for Das’ arrest and passed the order during a virtual hearing.

“Investigating officers submitted applications on Sunday to show Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested in four cases. The court on Monday granted shown arrest in the Alif murder case following a virtual hearing. The hearings on the other three applications will be held on Tuesday,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Public Prosecutor of the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court, Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan as saying.

Earlier on April 30, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court stayed the High Court order of granting bail to Das in a sedition case.

Judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Rezaul Haque passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the state counsel hours after the High Court granted him bail.

The stay order remains in force until the filing of a leave-to-appeal petition and release of the full text of the verdict.

The Bangladesh High Court had earlier granted bail to Das, who was arrested on November 25 last year on charges of sedition, linked to alleged disrespect of the national flag during a rally in Chittagong. His arrest had sparked widespread outrage across the world.

Chinmoy was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 and sent to jail the following day after a Chittagong court rejected his bail plea. On December 11, 2024, the same court again refused bail in the case.

The arrest of Das had sparked massive protests by the Hindu community in Bangladesh, which has been in political turmoil since August 2024 when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was removed amidst widespread violent demonstrations.

In the following nine months, Bangladesh has witnessed rising cases of attacks on the Hindu community ever since the Hasina-led government was toppled and an interim administration was formed under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus.

India has taken a tough line on the rights of the Hindu minority and repeatedly stated that there is “systematic persecution of Hindu minorities” under the Yunus-led interim government.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, during his meeting with Yunus on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok.

Recently, Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent leader of the Hindu community associated with the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Committee, was abducted from his home and beaten to death by four individuals on April 18.

–IANS