A Bangladesh court will hear the bail plea of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, arrested last week on sedition charges, on December 3.
The announcement of the hearing date was delayed due to a lawyers’ boycott and work abstention on Wednesday and Thursday, bdnews24.com reported.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Saiful Islam will preside over the hearing, confirmed additional deputy commissioner Mofizur Rahman of the Chattogram Metropolitan Police.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 27. His arrest stems from a sedition case filed on October 30, accusing him and 18 others of hoisting a saffron flag above the Bangladeshi national flag during a rally on October 25 at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram.
Read also: Who is Chinmoy Krishna Das? Hindu Iskcon priest arrested for sedition in Bangladesh
Das was presented before a Chattogram court earlier on Tuesday, where his bail plea was denied, leading to his remand in custody. His arrest sparked protests among his supporters, culminating in violent clashes that claimed the life of a lawyer in Chattogram.Bangladeshi authorities ordered the freezing of bank accounts linked to 17 individuals associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), including Chinmoy Krishna Das, for a 30-day period.
The case has triggered widespread outrage, with many Hindu community members and rights groups demanding Das’s immediate release.
Adding to the tension, two more Iskcon priests Adi Purush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das were arrested on Friday while returning from serving prasad to Das in prison. Both monks, natives of Chattogram, were detained amid heightened concerns over violence targeting Hindu minorities since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August, according to Iskcon Kolkata’s vice president Radharamn Das.