Rejection of ISKCON priest’s bail plea by B’desh court an attempt to silence minorities: Rights body

A New Delhi-based rights body -- Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) – on Thursday strongly criticised the denial of bail by a Bangladeshi court to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das. 

RRAG has decided to take up the issue with the United Nations, United States, United Kingdom and all other countries which believe in the rule of law.

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

The RRAG said that the denial of bail to Das, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote, by the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam after hearing arguments from both sides for around 30 minutes is “nothing but an attempt to silence the Hindu minorities to not press for their democratic rights.”

RRAG Director Suhas Chakma said that the main crime of Chinmoy Krishna Das was organising a peaceful protest by the Hindu minorities on October 25, 2024 at the historic Lal Dighi ground in Chittagong seeking justice against violations of the rights of the minorities in Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh is unable to accept that the Hindu minorities will protest to seek their rights. There is no other reason to arrest and detain in a perverse case of sedition,” he said in a statement.

According to RRAG, on October 31, 2024, one Md Firoz Khan, former General Secretary of Mohora ward of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, filed a private complaint with Kotwali Police Station, Chattogram, accusing Das and 18 others of disrespecting Bangladesh's national flag during a rally of the Hindu community on October 25.

“A perusal of the two-page complaint filed by Md Firoz Khan shows that the entire first page of the complaint pertains to description of the accused. The second page which contains half a page text alleged that ‘under the instigation of the accused persons, at New Market Zero Point, Chattogram, unknown persons had put up saffron flags of the ISKCON over the national flags put by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement,’” the statement said.

“It said that putting up the saffron flag is equivalent to challenging territorial integrity of Bangladesh, and creating disturbance and enmity between the communities/groups.

The complainant Md Firoz Khan provided no evidence whatsoever to substantiate his allegations,” RRAG claimed.

It added that “based on this false and fictitious complaint, the Bangladesh Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 124 (a) of the Bangladesh Penal Code relating to sedition punishable with imprisonment for life, Section 150 relating to hiring, or conniving at hiring of persons to join unlawful assembly, Section 109 punishment for abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment and Section 34 relating to common intention.”

Suhas Chakma said that in the complaint filed by Firoz Khan, there was no allegation that Das and other accused were directly involved in the alleged putting up of the ISKCON flag over the Bangladeshi national flag.

“The actual alleged offenders were not identified/named. Most importantly, there is no evidence that those who had put up the alleged flags were even ISKCON activists, and not of any other party or individuals. Even if several flags are put on a pillar, it is natural that the flags move around because of the winds and it can never constitute an offence of sedition,” Chakma said.

He said this was a case for effective intervention by all the countries which believe in the rule of law and they would approach such nations.