Bangladeshi Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das granted bail 5 months after arrest in sedition case
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a minority monk and former ISKCON priest in Bangladesh, has been granted bail after spending five months in custody. The Bangladesh High Court approved his bail on Wednesday, following his arrest on November 25 last year on sedition charges.
A division bench of Justices Ataur Rahman Khan and Ali Reza granted the bail after hearing arguments from all parties involved. The court has clarified that the interim government of Bangladesh had the right to appeal against the bail order.
As reported by the Bangladeshi media, the court had previously issued a ruling on February 4, questioning why the bail should not be granted. The hearing for this was initially scheduled for April 23, but the court later postponed it to April 30.
After the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina government during a mass uprising last year, Das had actively protested against the rising persecution of Hindu minorities. A sedition case against him had been registered in Chattogram for allegedly dishonouring the Bangladesh national flag.
Multiple attempts to secure his release on bail had previously failed, with one hearing even disrupted due to alleged threats against his lawyer. Tensions escalated after his bail plea was rejected, triggering violent clashes in the Chattogram court premises, that reportedly resulted in one fatality.
During a visit to Kolkata, one of his counsels, Rabindranath Ghosh, has shared how he was humiliated. He was not allowed to represent his client in court. He also faced harassment and mistreatment from various individuals, and several other lawyers actively prevented him from taking up the case.
Das was first produced before the Chattogram court on November 27. When he was presented again on December 11, there was no lawyer to represent him. Despite being brought to court several more times after that, his bail applications were rejected on each occasion.
His arrest triggered widespread outrage among Bangladesh’s Hindu minority and prompted solidarity protests across the border in West Bengal, underscoring the regional resonance of the incident.
In West Bengal, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari led a rally of BJP legislators to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata in protest. Adhikari asserted that Das’ demonstrations in Bangladesh echoed the ideals of the 1971 Liberation War. In December, the BJP also organised protests at the Petrapole Land Port, situated in the North 24 Parganas district.
Multiple other groups joined the movement. The minority cell of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, the West Bengal Youth Congress, and the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch held separate marches to the Deputy High Commission, all demanding Das’ immediate release.
ISKCON members also organised several peaceful protests featuring devotional singing (kirtans). The demonstration drew participation from ordinary devotees, including women and children, and included appeals to the Bangladeshi government to refrain from banning ISKCON in the country.
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