A Delhi based human rights defender has sought UN intervention on the arbitrary arrest of Hindu monk, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari in Bangladesh.
A Bangladeshi citizen, the middle-aged religious leader is the Secretary of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Chittagong.
His arrest sparked protests by his supporters in both the capital Dhaka and Chittagong city.
A Muslim lawyer defending Das was killed amid protests outside the court in Chittagong.
Suhas Chakma has written to the Geneva based UN Working Group on Arbitary Detention to register a complaint against the Bangladesh government on the illegal detention of Bangladesh’s most prominent Hindu religious monk.
Chakma who represents the Rights & Risks Analysis Group has said that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Chinmoy Dhaka airport on November 25, on several politically motivated false charges including sedition.
The RRAG founder has also requested the UN working group for its opinion regarding the detention of Chinmoy Brahmachari.
Calling the entire complaint fictitious, the RRAG said that it an attempt to misuse the law to silence those who are organizing the religious minorities.
It said that by denying bail to the monk, Bangladesh has deprived him of liberty simply due to discrimination on the basis of his religious beliefs and his position of a Hindu minority religious leader.
The RRAG said that till his arrest, the police did not ask Chinmoy to join the investigation as required Under Sections 160 and 161 of the Bangladesh Criminal Procedure Code.
The human rights activist said that the Bangladesh Police did not even follow its own national laws regarding the detention of Chinmoy Brahmachari.
Suhas has argued that Chinmoy was arrested for only exercising the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in the Lal Dighi ground in Chittagong on October 25.
The RRAG said that he was only seeking justice for the minorities.
Contesting Firoz Khan’s complaint against Chinmoy, the RRAG said that there is no allegation of direct involvement of Chinmoy and other accused persons, in putting the ISCKCON flag over Bangladeshi national flag.
“The actual alleged offenders were not identified/named,’’ the RRAG said.
Chakma further said that the complainant failed to provide any evidence that those who put up these flags were ISKCON activists.
“Even if several flags are put on a pillar, it is natural that the flags move around because of the winds and it can never constitute an offence of sedition,’’ he said.
Bangladesh’s caretaker government said in a statement that a probe has been ordered into the alleged killing.
It stated, “The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost.”
India condemned his arrest and the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement.
“It is unfortunate that, while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings.”
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said the government does not interfere in the work of the judiciary.
It said that a court of law was dealing with the matter.
“The Government of Bangladesh is also committed to upholding communal harmony in the country,” the ministry said.
