On Sunday (1st December), 63 members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) were stopped at the Benapole border crossing, despite having proper passports and visas. The immigration officers denied entrance to the ISKCON devotees citing a lack of ‘official approval’ for their travel.
Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration police, stated that they received instructions from higher authorities not to allow them to cross the border, as reported by The Daily Star newspaper. He said that while the ISKCON devotees had legitimate passports and visas, they lacked government permission. “We did not allow 54 passengers to travel to India due to suspicions regarding travel purposes,” Bhuiyan said without making any mention of the other group of 9 ISKCON devotees.
A group of 54 ISKCON devotees and another group of 9 devotees from different areas in Bangladesh arrived at the checkpoint between Saturday night and Sunday morning. After waiting for hours for clearance to proceed, they were told that their travel was not authorised. “We came to participate in a religious ceremony in India, but immigration officials stopped us, citing the absence of government permission,” ISKCON member Saurabh Tapandar Cheli said.
Expressing his frustration over the travel restriction, Cheli added, “I came to attend a religious ceremony in India. But immigration authorities sent me back without giving any explanation.”
Meanwhile, Radharamn Das, vice-president of ISKCON Kolkata questioned the decision of the Bangladeshi authorities to stop ISKCON monks from travelling to India despite valid documents. “Considering the current situation in Bangladesh, they chose this period for a pilgrimage in India. But 9 were stopped on Saturday and another 54 on Sunday by BGB. They were told it was unsafe for them to travel to India at this point and asked to go back. I just wonder, on what grounds could they be disallowed from heading to another country despite having valid visas and other documents?” the ISKCON Kolkata member told TOI.
Bangladesh stops 63 Iskcon Brahmachari's from crossing into India. They had all valid Indian Visa and other documents. But Bangladeshi Boarder Police said that Bangladeshi Intelligence has told them not to allow them to enter India. Already 4 of our Brahmacharis they have… pic.twitter.com/QQDuCYlj4m
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) December 1, 2024
While atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh have been on an all-time-high since the unceremonious ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August this year, the persecution of Hindus has increased since the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, on the 27th of November. He was held at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on suspicion of sedition. His arrest provoked huge protests among supporters. The prosecution claims that on 25th October, he and others raised a saffron flag over the Bangladeshi flag at a protest in Chattogram. Bangladeshi officials also blocked the bank accounts of 17 individuals affiliated with ISKCON, including Chinmoy Das, for 30 days. The tension rose after two ISKCON monks, Adi Purush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das, both from Chattogram, were arrested on Friday while returning after giving prasad to Das in jail.
