Bangladesh HC grants bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das

Dhaka: Chinmoy Krishna Das, a prominent Hindu leader and spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jot, has been granted bail by the High Court on Wednesday in an alleged sedition case.

The bench of Justice Atoar Rahman and Justice Ali Reza passed the order after a final hearing.

Earlier this year, the High Court issued a rule after hearing Das’s application for bail in the case, seeking an explanation as to why the applicant should not be granted bail.

Last week, the High Court set April 30 as the date for the rule hearing, following which the Court declared the rule absolute and delivered its verdict, Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported on Wednesday.

Arrested on November 25 from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on charges of sedition, Das has remained in jail despite widespread demands for his release.

Chinmoy Krishna was taken into custody by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, an act which was criticised throughout the world and exposed the crimes being committed against the Hindu community of Bangladesh.

Krishna was not only associated with the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajot (BJHM), a grand national alliance of 23 religious organisations in the country, but also with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The news of his arrest led to several protests demanding his immediate release.

The incidents of vandalism, looting, arson, land grabbing, and threats to leave the country have been repeatedly inflicted on the Hindu community after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on August 8 following the fall of Awami League regime led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Even though Yunus and his religious affairs advisor A.F.M. Khalid Hossain assured that the current establishment believes in communal harmony, the communal violence, which began immediately after Hasina left Dhaka, continued to cause widespread fear, anxiety, and uncertainty among the minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus.

Last month, a report of the Dhaka-based human rights organisation, Ain O Salish Kendra (AsK), highlighted that there are reports of a total of 147 incidents of vandalising houses, temples, and business establishments of the Hindu community across the country.

Some 408 households were vandalised in these incidents, including 36 cases of arson. Besides, there have been reports of 113 incidents of vandalising business establishments owned by the minority community, 32 incidents of attack on temples and mosques of the Ahmadiyya sect, and 92 incidents of vandalising idols in 92 temples.

There have been several incidents of attacks on the minorities all over the country, particularly the Hindu community, after the fall of the Awami League government with their areas, including houses, business establishments, and places of worship coming under attack and even set on fire in certain instances.

Earlier this 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.

India has repeatedly raised concerns over the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh, hoping that the interim government in the country led by Yunus will take strong action against the perpetrators of violence.

–IANS