Bangladesh freezes bank accounts of incarcerated Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, 16 other ISKCON members

Bangladesh authorities recently ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of 17 people associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), including the incarcerated Hindu leader and monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges.

Meanwhile, India backed ISKCON and reminded the Muhammad Yunus-led government of its responsibility to protect all minority communities, including the Hindus, in Bangladesh.

Also, several civil rights bodies and Hindu organizations on Nov 26 protested in front of the Assistant High Commission office in Agartala demanding the unconditional release of Das and an end to atrocities on Hindus.

The recent move to freeze the bank accounts comes after the Bangladesh High Court recently rejected a petition seeking a ban on ISKCON, following the killing of a lawyer in clashes between the Hindu leader’s supporters and security men.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit on Nov 28 sent directives to several banks and financial institutions, suspending all transactions related to these accounts for a month, according to Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo.

India has condemned the latest action against ISKCON — the Hindu spiritual organization founded by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in New York in 1966.

“We see ISKCON as a globally well-regarded organization with a strong record of social service,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told journalists in New Delhi on Nov 29.

Jaiswal was replying to the questions on India’s views on the clamor by some radical organizations in Bangladesh to ban ISKCON.

The intelligence agency under the central Bangladesh Bank asked the banks to send information, including updated transaction statements of accounts related to all businesses owned by these 17 individuals till Dec 1, officials were quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, in the latest spate of attacks, three Hindu temples were vandalized by a mob on Nov 29 in Chattogram. The attack took place around 2:30 pm in the port city's Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, where Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, Shoni Temple, and Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple were targeted, a Bangladeshi news portal reported.

“A group of several hundred slogan-shouting people threw brickbats at the temples, damaging Shoni Temple and the gates of the other two temples,” temple authorities were quoted as saying.

On Oct 30, a sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Das, at Chattogram’s Kotwali police station, accusing them of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag in Chattogram’s New Market area during a rally of the Hindu community.

Das, who is also a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Nov 25 for alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chattogram court a day later, sparking protests by his supporters.

Meanwhile, India reiterated that Bangladesh needs to provide a fair legal process to Das.

When asked about the meeting Jaiswal on Nov 29 said, “These meetings as and when we have them firmed up, you will come to know, if they are happening.” Jaiswal said.

“India has consistently and strongly raised with the Bangladesh Government the threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities,” he added.

Jaiswal said India’s position on the matter is clear. “The interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities. We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation,”

These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggeration, he added.

Commenting on Das’s arrest, Jaiswal said, “We expect that cases against individuals have processes to deal with the case in a just, fair, and transparent manner, ensuring full respect for the legal rights of all concerned.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Hindu saints held a protest rally in the city to press for their demands and assurance of the security of minorities in Bangladesh. A group of civil society leaders called on the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh and submitted a memorandum on the same demands while threatening to go for mass agitation.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Nov 27 said the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh reflects that the interim government of that country is in the "clutches of fundamentalists" and sought the intervention of the United Nations in the matter.

Condemning the arrest of a Hindu leader Das, he said such attacks are against humanity.

"The caretaker 'prime minister' of Bangladesh is in the clutches of fundamentalists. The way Hindus are being attacked is against humanity. United Nations should intervene in this matter," Singh told reporters in the Parliament complex.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Nov 27 also condemned the ongoing atrocities against Hindu minorities and Hindu leaders in Bangladesh.