No Relief for Arrested Hindu Monk in Bangladesh as No Lawyer Appears on His Behalf; Bail Hearing Set for Jan 2

PTI, DHAKA, DEC 3, 2024 :  A Bangladesh court on Tuesday deferred the hearing on the bail petition of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachary to January 2, due to the absence of a lawyer to represent him.

Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 on charges of alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chattogram court on November 26, which led to protests by his supporters.

“The bail petition hearing (of Brahmachary) was scheduled for today (Tuesday)... the court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Saiful Islam rescheduled the date as the prosecution side submitted a time petition because no lawyer appeared as defense counsel,” a government prosecutor told reporters.

An associate of Das in his Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, Sawtantra Gauranga Das, claimed that no lawyer was willing to stand for the Hindu leader due to fears of threats and pressure from a “politically motivated lawyers' group.” Lawyer Subhashi Sharma, who had submitted an affidavit on behalf of Das, was unavailable for comments after violence erupted following his arrest on sedition charges for allegedly defaming the Bangladesh flag. This incident led to the killing of a government prosecutor in the port city.

There was heavy security around the Chattogram court area during the bail hearing, with large deployments of security officials from different forces positioned nearby. Das was not brought to court for the hearing. A leader from the Chattogram Bar Association and other lawyers were seen holding a protest march on the court premises.

Das' arrest sparked protests, with his followers demonstrating in Dhaka and other places. In Chattogram, the protests turned violent when assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif was hacked to death, just hours after Das was sent to jail.

The relations between India and Bangladesh have come under strain since the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August. India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh. There has been a rise in violent attacks against Hindus in the country, and Hindu minority groups have frequently reported atrocities against their community members, even after Yunus assumed charge.