A COURT in Bangladesh on Thursday denied bail to former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested for sedition on November 25.
At a virtual hearing, Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions judge Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides for around 30 minutes.
This was the second time the Hindu priest’s bail petition was rejected by the court of the metropolitan sessions judge in Chattogram.
Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, who is representing Das, said they plan to appeal to the High Court for bail.
Das was charged with sedition for allegedly raising a saffron flag above Bangladesh’s national flag in Chattogram in October.
After leaving the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Das became the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote organisation.
Das was arrested at the Dhaka airport on November 25. His first bail plea was rejected on November 26 by Chattogram's 6th Metropolitan Magistrate, and sent to jail.
The court decision angered the Hindu community in Bangladesh, who staged a protest around the prison van outside the court leading to violent clashes during which a lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed.
The arrest of Das had triggered protests in several Indian states, including Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, and the India government had earlier expressed concern over his imprisonment.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had earlier said, “It is our expectation that he will get a fair and transparent trial and his legal rights will be respected.” (PTI)
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