Bangladesh detains ISKCON monk Krishna Das Prabhu, bars him from leaving country

Bangladeshi authorities on November 25 detained Hindu religious leader and ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, aka Krishna Das Prabhu, at the Dhaka Airport. He has reportedly been barred from leaving Bangladesh and is currently at an undisclosed location, CNN-News18 reported.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry official Kanchan Gupta took to social media platform X to announce the prominent Bangladeshi Hindu religious leader’s arrest and informed that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk has been detained on sedition charges.

Gupta, a senior advisor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, wrote, “Hindu leader and ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari is reported arrested in Dhaka by Yunus (Nobel laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus) regime Police. Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was charged with sedition after he led a massive rally of Hindus protesting targeted hate attacks and demanding protection from Islamists. Tallest leader of the Hindu community, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari is believed to have been taken to Detective Branch of Yunus Regime.” The CNN-News18 report cited sources as saying that a “few FIRs and investigations were pending against him (Krishna Das Prabhu)”.

Meanwhile, Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take cognizance of the issue and take “urgent steps”.

“Renowned firebrand Hindu Leader; Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu has been abducted by the Detective Branch at Dhaka Airport in Bangladesh. He is leading the fight for the survival & dignity of the Hindu Minorities of Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi Sanatani Community fear that Md Yunus's 'Radical' Regime may stoop to any level, even eliminate 'perceived threats' to its authority. I urge Dr S Jaishankar to kindly take note of the matter and take urgent steps,” he wrote on X.

Adhikari also shared a video of the Bangladeshi ISKCON monk in which he can be heard saying, “I request to all, anytime I would be arrested. You unitedly keep this movement alive.”