A court in Chattogram, Bangladesh, on January 2, rejected the bail plea of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who has been in custody since November 25. Das was arrested by the Dhaka Police in a purported connection with a sedition case, he has since had his bail plea rejected after a hearing that lasted around 30 minutes. The bail petition was filed by a team of 11 Supreme Court lawyers who had traveled from Dhaka to Chattogram.
Travesty of Justice
In a major setback for the Bangladeshi Hindu Community and the members of the Sanatani Community across the world who are concerned about the human rights of Bangladeshi Hindus, the bail plea of revered Hindu Monk; Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu was… pic.twitter.com/MF3SOlms7c
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) January 2, 2025
The lawyers, led by senior advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, also the spokesperson for the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, a group associated with Das, presented their arguments before the court. Despite their plea, the court, under Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam, rejected the request. The prosecution opposed the bail, and the judge sided with the prosecution. Bhattacharjee, a former Deputy Attorney General of Bangladesh, announced plans to appeal to the High Court.
Chinmoy Krishna Das was not present in court during the hearing. The session took place amid tight security, a month after a previous bail hearing in December was marred by chaos and threats from Islamists. In that instance, no lawyer dared to represent Das due to threats of public violence from Islamists. The 75-year-old lawyer Rabindranath Ghosh, who had tried to represent Das in December, was attacked and harassed outside the court, and later had to be hospitalized in Kolkata due to chest pain.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, an outspoken advocate for the rights of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, was arrested under sedition charges. He had been a vocal critic of the persecution of minorities, particularly following the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, which led to increasing attacks on Hindu communities in Bangladesh. Das, in an exclusive interview with India Today in November, had called the sedition case an attempt to eliminate leaders speaking up for minority rights during the regime of Muhammad Yunus.
Following his arrest, Das’ bail application was rejected by the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on November 26. Additionally, two priests who visited Das in jail were also arrested on November 29. Das’ legal team plans to continue their fight for his release, taking the case to a higher court in the coming days.
