1 dead in clashes after Hindu leader's arrest in Bangladesh

A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between the security personnel and followers of a Hindu community leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a court in the port city of Chattogram in Bangladesh, police said.

IMAGE: Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu leader associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), is escorted by the police at the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Court, in Chattogram, Bangladesh, on November 26, 2024. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters

Police said that assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam, who is in his early 30s, was critically wounded and rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

The violence erupted after Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was denied bail and sent to jail by the Chattogram's Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court in a sedition case. He was arrested from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka a day earlier.

Immediately after the court's order at around noon, Das' followers started to protest, disrupting the movement of the prison van carrying him. Protesters were shouting slogans demanding his release, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Police and members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) fired sound grenades and charged batons at the protesters to clear the way of the van. The van was finally able to leave the court premises at around 3 pm, the report said.

Das called on his followers to remain calm from inside the prison van.

Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chittagong Lawyers' Association, claimed that protesters dragged the lawyer out of the hall room and hacked him to death.

An eyewitness claimed that the lawyer was beaten up by protesters, the Bangla-language newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

Later, he was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Citing Dr Nivedita Ghosh, a duty doctor at the emergency department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the paper said that eight people were brought in with injuries. One of them was found dead.

Interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus condemned the murder of the lawyer, urging people to keep calm and stay away from participating in any untoward activities.

He directed the authorities to conduct an investigation into the killing and take appropriate legal measures, according to a statement issued by his press wing.

Yunus also ordered the law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city, including in all the vulnerable neighbourhoods.

The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost, he read.

Deputy Commissioner of City Police Liaquat Ali confirmed one death but said they were still investigating the cause.

The Daily Star newspaper reported that at least 10 people, including journalists, were injured during the clash.

Protests also broke out demanding Das' release in different districts including Dhaka, Cumilla, Khulna, Dinajpur and Cox's Bazar.

Hundreds of people from the Hindu community on Monday took to the streets at the Cheragi Pahar intersection in Chattogram, demanding his immediate release. Similarly, the Hindu community members in Dhaka blocked the Shahbagh intersection, protesting the arrest.

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council also protested Das' arrest and demanded his immediate release.

A case was filed against Das and 18 others on October 30 at Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station leader on the complaint of a leader of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which accused them of disrespecting the national flag in the city's Laldighi Maidan during a rally of the Hindu community on Oct 25.

Local government affairs adviser and Anti-Discrimination Student's Movement leader Asif Mahmud said Das has been arrested not as a leader of any community but for sedition.

"If someone is involved in any incident like sedition, he will not be spared, he told reporters following a public rally in northwestern Rangpur city on Tuesday.

"If Bangladesh's sovereignty and independence are endangered or the country is exposed to dishonour or contempt, the government will take steps," Mahmud said.

Das was also a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which recently expelled him.

ISKCON leaders in Bangladesh were not immediately available for comments.

Bangladesh's minority Hindus, which constitute only about 8 per cent of the 170 million population, have faced over 200 attacks in 50-odd districts since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5.