Bangladesh court rejects bail plea of Hindu monk Chinmoy Das

Bail plea of Chinmoy Das has been rejected

A Bangladesh court on Thursday (January 2) rejected the bail plea of jailed Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested in the country on November 25 in connection with a sedition case.

Following a 30-minute hearing involving arguments from both sides, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea, Dhaka-based The Daily Star reported. A bench of 11 lawyers of the Supreme Court took part in the high-profile bail hearing today.

Reacting to the development, Radharamn Das, vice president of Iskcon Kolkata, told ANI, "It's a very sad news. We know that the entire world was keeping an eye on this. Everyone was expecting Chinmoy Prabhu will get freedom in the new year - but even after 42 days, his bail was rejected in a hearing today. Bangladesh government should ensure that he gets justice."

Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested last month at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while travelling to Chattogram for a rally. He was denied bail and sent to jail till January 2 by a court in Bangladesh.

Earlier, Radharamn Das had expressed hope that Chinmoy Krishna Das would get justice in the court hearing scheduled on Thursday. He said the organisation will hold prayers for Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh on the first day of 2025, as they have been doing over the past month.

"In the last two hearings, we observed that his lawyers were not allowed to appear, and we hope that tomorrow, his lawyers will be able to represent him," Das added.

Bangladesh's minority Hindus, which constitute only about 8 per cent of the 170 million population, have faced hundreds of attacks in 50-odd districts of the country since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5.