Former ISKCON leader arrested from Dhaka airport

Former International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) leader Chandan Kumar Dhar, alias Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, was arrested from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area in Dhaka this afternoon.

Rezaul Karim Mallick, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and chief of Detective Branch, said a team of detectives arrested him in connection to a case filed in Chattogram.

On October 31, a sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Chinmoy, former divisional organising secretary of the ISKCON, Chattogram with Kotwali Police Station.

Firoz Khan, then general secretary of Mohora ward BNP, filed the case on charges of disrespecting Bangladesh's national flag in Chattogram's New Market area during a rally of the Hindu community on October 25.

A day after filing the case, Firoz was expelled from the party over "anti-party" activities.

According to the case statement, the incident occurred on October 25, when a group of youths reportedly placed a saffron-coloured flag over the Bangladeshi flag on the Shadhinata Sthambha (independence pillar) at Zero Point near the New Market intersection during a rally organised by the Hindu community under the banner "Sanatan Jagaran Mancha".

Meanwhile, hundreds of people from the Hindu community took to the streets at Cheragi Pahar intersection in the port city around 6:00pm protesting Chinmoy's arrest.

They brought out a procession and demanded his immediate release.

Contacted, Swatantro Gouranga Das Brahmachari, member of the managing committee of ISKCON Prabartak Sri Krishna Mandir, said Chinmoy went to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 3:30pm to catch a flight to Chattogram.

"From his personal assistant, I found out that some plainclothes men introducing themselves as members of the detective branch picked him up from the entrance of the airport," he said.

"So far we have information that he was taken to the DB office at Minto Road in Dhaka," he added.

Kazi Tarek Aziz, additional deputy commissioner (public relations) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, said police have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident.

Similarly, a section of the Hindu community in the capital blocked Shahbagh intersection late in the evening protesting the arrest.

The Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad in a statement condemned Chinmoy's arrest.

Its presidents Ushaton Talukder, Prof Dr Nim Chandra Bhowmik, and Nirmal Rozario and acting general secretary Manindra Kumar Nath demanded the release of Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote spokesperson Prabhu Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in the national interest.

The leaders opined that the arrest has the potential to tarnish Bangladesh's global image on the issue of freedom of expression and human rights.

Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote is an alliance of different Hindu organisations. Chinmoy is also the principal of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham, a Hindu temple at Chattogram's Hathazari upazila.

Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad in a separate statement also expressed deep concerned over the arrest and demanded his immediate release.

Following the case lodged on October 31, police arrested two of the accused -- Rajesh Chowdhury and Hriday Das -- in the Chattogram's Sadarghat area.

The other accused are Ajay Dutta, Leela Raj Das Brahmachari, Gopal Das Tipu, Dr Kathak Das, Engineer Amit Dhar, Roni Das, Rajib Das, Krishna Kumar Dutta, Jiku Chowdhury, Newton Dey, Tushar Chakraborty Rajib, Mithun Dey, Rupan Dhar, Rimon Dutta, Sukanta Das and Biswajit Gupta.