Ousted PM Hasina demands immediate release of Hindu leader Bangladesh high court rejects plea to ban ISKCON

    Dhaka/Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) Deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday demanded the immediate release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, echoing India's concerns over the safety of the minority community in the neighbouring country.
    Hours earlier, the Bangladesh High Court rejected a petition seeking a ban on the country's chapter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the organisation to which Das previously belonged.
    In Kolkata, members of Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch took out a rally to the office of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner, protesting atrocities on the Hindu community and Das' arrest.
    The Bangladesh court's observation followed the killing of a lawyer on Tuesday allegedly by Das' supporters when they clashed with security personnel after the Hindu leader, arrested on sedition charges, was denied bail and sent to jail.
    Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 following a mass protest against her government, also condemned the lawyer's killing, calling the perpetrators "terrorists" and slamming what she called the "unconstitutional" government led by Muhammad Yunus for failing to provide security to common people.
    "A top leader of the Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested. He must be released immediately," Hasina said in a statement in the Bengali posted on her Awami League party's X account.
    In a separate statement, her party said the "unlawful arrest of popular Hindu priest, the denial of bail and refusal of the regime advisors to acknowledge of violence showed minorities right to freedom of speech, assembly and protection have been trampled completely".
    Hasina said that a temple had been burnt in Chattogram, recalling that mosques, shrines, churches, monasteries and homes of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked, looted and set on fire in the past.
    "Religious freedom and security of life and property of people of all communities should be ensured," said Hasina.
    She said those involved in the murder of the lawyer should be found and punished quickly. "...Those who beat him to death were terrorists. Whoever they are must be punished," Hasina said.
    Hasina appealed to people to stand united against this kind of "terrorism".
    She said those who grabbed powers have failed in all areas. They have failed to control the price rise and failed to provide security to people, she said, referring to Yunus, who took over as the Chief Adviser of the interim government three days after her ouster.
    Earlier, a spokesman of the attorney general's office said that a two-member High Court bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury declined to ban the ISKCON activities in Bangladesh.
    A lawyer had sought a ban on ISKCON after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.
    The spokesperson said the bench made the decision after the attorney general's office submitted a report on the action taken by the government regarding the death of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif in the northeastern port city of Chattogram.
    "Right at this moment, the situation does not warrant the intervention of the (High) court as the State is carrying out its job (regarding the matter),” Justice Mahbub was quoted as saying by the spokesman.
    The bench hoped that the government would remain cautious about protecting the law and order situation and the lives and properties of the people of Bangladesh.
    Meanwhile, ISKCON Bangladesh refuted allegations linking it to the lawyer's killing, saying the claims were baseless and part of a malicious campaign.
    "A series of false, fabricated, and malicious campaigns is being spearheaded targeting ISKCON Bangladesh, particularly in connection with recent events. These efforts are aimed at discrediting our organisation and creating societal unrest," general secretary of the organization Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said.
    Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, he said ISKCON Bangladesh was never involved in "communal or conflict-driven activities and will continue to promote unity and harmony".
    "Regrettably, certain groups continue to deliberately spread false propaganda against our organisation and make unreasonable demands, such as banning ISKCON," he said.
    He said Das was previously expelled from the organisation along with two others for violating its rules and none of his activities were connected to ISKCON.
    ISKCON Bangladesh President Satya Ranjan Baroi said the organisation was dedicated to communal harmony, religious tolerance, and the welfare of humanity and “the allegations are an attempt to tarnish our religious and social reputation".
    Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum on Thursday staged a protest in front of the Supreme Court Bar, protesting the lawyer's killing and demanding the ban on ISKCON. The group is regarded as the lawyers’ wing of ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
    Leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, which led the mass upheaval to oust Hasina’s regime, also demanded the ban on ISKCON.
    Separately, a group of Supreme Court lawyers sent a legal notice to the Bangladesh government on Wednesday, seeking the ban on ISKCON.
    India on Tuesday noted with “deep concern” Das' arrest and denial of bail and urged Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all other minority groups.
    In Washington, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the escalating human rights violations against religious minorities in Bangladesh and the arrest of Das.
    It urged US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to call on the government of Bangladesh to protect the minority Hindu community in the country.
    Several Hindu American groups have sought that US aid for the South Asian country be made contingent on its government taking measurable action to protect these populations.
    Hindu minority groups have been frequently reporting atrocities against their community members in different parts of Bangladesh, even after Yunus took charge.
    There are also reports of the rise of extremist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and similar ideological extremist wings.
    Hindus, who constituted about 22% of Bangladesh’s population during the 1971 Liberation War, now make up roughly 8%, primarily due to socio-political marginalization and sporadic violence over decades.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)