A court docket in Chittagong denied bail to the person charged with sedition as India cautioned about justice for minorities.
Police in Bangladesh have used tear fuel in opposition to Hindus protesting in opposition to the arrest of a non secular chief as neighbouring India referred to as for guaranteeing the security of Hindus and minorities within the Muslim-majority nation.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, also referred to as Krishna Das Prabhu, was arrested at Dhaka airport on Monday on fees together with sedition.
A court docket within the port metropolis of Chittagong on Tuesday denied bail to the priest related to the Worldwide Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), broadly generally known as the Hare Krishna motion.
In response to town’s police, greater than 2,000 supporters surrounded the van and blocked its path for a while when Das was being escorted again to jail from court docket.
The demonstrators threw bricks on the police and officers fired tear fuel to disperse the crowds, stated Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasib Aziz, who added nobody was critically harm.
Das’s arrest set off protests by his supporters in each Chittagong, the nation’s second-largest metropolis, and the capital, Dhaka.
India famous the arrest and denial of bail with “deep concern”. The neighbouring Hindu-majority nation’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs stated in an announcement that the incident follows assaults on Hindus and different minorities, together with locations of worship, by “extremist components in Bangladesh”.
It stated the perpetrators of these incidents stay at massive whereas Bangladeshi authorities pressed fees in opposition to “a non secular chief presenting reputable calls for by means of peaceable gatherings”.
Sedition fees have been filed in opposition to Das in October after he led a big rally in Chittagong, throughout which it’s accused he disrespected Bangladesh’s nationwide flag.
The rally was geared toward demanding justice for Hindus going through focused assaults in Bangladesh and in search of higher protections for minorities.
The interim authorities, which took over within the aftermath of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s flight from the nation on August 5 amid a mass rebellion in opposition to her rule earlier this yr, has stated the risk to Hindus is being exaggerated and they’re engaged on the difficulty.
Whereas there was large-scale looting and the ransacking of nationwide monuments and authorities buildings within the wake of Hasina’s overthrow, pupil leaders who spearheaded the protests had additionally requested supporters to protect Hindu temples and church buildings.
Greater than 90 p.c of the inhabitants in Bangladesh is Muslim, with Hindus – a lot of who help Hasina’s Awami League get together – making up nearly all the relaxation.
“We urge Bangladesh authorities to make sure the security and safety of Hindus and all minorities, together with their proper of freedom of peaceable meeting and expression,” the Indian ministry stated.