DHAKA: A metropolitan court in Bangladesh denied bail on Thursday to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested for sedition on November 25, after public prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan argued that freeing him “could create anarchy”. “We saw in the past that he (Chinmoy Krishna) triggered violence on the court premises by calling thousands of his followers to protest. We moved against his plea as we believe that he could misuse bail,” news agency AP quoted Bhuiyan as saying.
“He faces serious charges like sedition and others involving the security and sovereignty of our country.”
Chattogram metropolitan sessions judge Md Saiful Islam’s order – the second instance of the monk’s bail plea being rejected – came amid a campaign for the former Iskcon monk’s release after over five weeks in jail. On Dec 29, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad issued a statement calling for the immediate release of Chinmoy Krishna and 19 others implicated in the sedition case. Manindra Kumar Nath, acting general secretary of the organisation, urged the interim govt headed by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus to look into what he termed “false and harassing” charges.
An 11-strong legal team from Dhaka’s Supreme Court travelled to Chattogram to represent Chinmoy Krishna at the bail hearing, which commenced at 9.45am under heavy security. A contingent of police, Border Guard Bangladesh and military personnel was deployed outside the courthouse to maintain order.
Iskcon purportedly expelled Chinmoy Krishna for indiscipline not long before his November 25 arrest.
