Protests in Tripura against Hindu priest's arrest in Bangladesh

Agartala: Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, state BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee, various organisations and intellectuals criticised the Bangladesh government’s action against Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.

Das was taken into custody at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday. He was produced before Chittagong's 6th Metropolitan Magistrate court on Tuesday. The court, after rejecting the bail plea, sent the Hindu priest -- associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) -- to jail.

Slamming Bangladesh authority, former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, currently a Lok Sabha member, said: “The ongoing attacks on Sanatani minorities, various religious institutions and Sanatani Gurus in Bangladesh are entirely undemocratic and an affront to basic human rights principles.”

“I strongly condemn such incidents, completely based on narrow and vested interests, where sanatani sentiments and human rights are violated. I urge an urgent and joint international action to stem this undemocratic and anti-humanitarian situation,” Deb posted on his X handle.

Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee slammed the Bangladesh government over this arrest, and said, “Das during various natural disasters and crises actively helped the people in Bangladesh, providing various humanitarian support and he has been uniting the people belonging to Sanatani belief,” he said in a statement.

Bhattacharjee, also a Rajya Sabha member, said that ISKCON, despite being a very popular and respected international body, is now trying to be identified as a terrorist group.

An apolitical and peace-fostering organisation ISKCON has 77 temples with over 50,000 devotees in Bangladesh and has branches in almost all countries across the world, the BJP leader said.

He said that with the arrest of Das, it is now evident the extent of atrocities being unleashed on the minorities in Bangladesh, and added that even peaceful protest against the arrest of Das was also attacked in Dhaka.

Bhattacharjee demanded Das's immediate release and the withdrawal of all charges levelled against him.

A group of intellectuals and prominent citizens met the officials of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala and demanded the immediate release of Das.

The intellectuals under the banner of ‘Forum for Protection of Minorities in Bangladesh’ urged the Bangladesh caretaker government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to make all efforts to protect the minorities in Bangladesh.

Various other organisations also organised protest rallies and demonstrations against the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.

A group of Hindutva activists and social workers Tuesday evening staged a candlelight protest in Agartala.

The protesters organised their vociferous protest in front of Ujjayanta Palace here, the former abode of Tripura’s erstwhile Manikya dynasty which has been turned into a museum.

They demanded immediate and unconditional release of the priest by Bangladesh authorities.

The protesters claimed that Das has been the “voice of Sanatana Hindus” in Bangladesh and he was arrested on sedition charges after he appealed to Hindus to stay united in the country.

Terming the arrest as “barbaric” and “unacceptable”, Biplab Kanti Bhowmik, founder of a social organisation called ‘Srestha Bhubon Samajik Sanstha’, said, “We have seen through social media that Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari of Bangladesh, who is the voice of Sanatani Hindus in that country, was arrested at Bangladesh Airport and was illegally taken way.”