On Monday, 3rd December, no lawyer for ISKCON head Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh could appear for him in Chattogram court forcing the authorities to postpone the date of the hearing to January 2nd. As per the reports, advocate Rabindra Ghosh who was to appear for Das in the court was denied entry in the court premises.
Notably, earlier it was reported that one of the other advocates who was appearing for Das, Ramen Roy was seriously injured in the court premises in Chittagong while seeking the bail hearing of the arrested monk.
As per reports, unidentified elements also attacked and vandalized the private office chamber of advocate Ramen Roy. The office was badly damaged and furniture was destroyed during the attack. Some social media handles shared the photo of a young man, reportedly Roy, lying down with bandaged head wounds. However, ISKCON Vice President and Spokesperson from Kolkata, Radharaman Das further confirmed that the advocate was brutally attacked by the anti-Hindu elements in Bangladesh.
Please pray for Advocate Ramen Roy. His only 'fault' was defending Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in court.
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) December 2, 2024
Islamists ransacked his home and brutally attacked him, leaving him in the ICU, fighting for his life.#SaveBangladeshiHindus #FreeChinmoyKrishnaPrabhu pic.twitter.com/uudpC10bpN
“Please pray for Advocate Ramen Roy. His only ‘fault’ was defending Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in court. Islamists ransacked his home and brutally attacked him, leaving him in the ICU, fighting for his life,” Radharaman Das said.
It is crucial to note that since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August this year, the minority community in Bangladesh has been targeted and several temples have been destroyed in the area in a major crackdown on Hindus. OpIndia has recorded several such incidents, the details of which can be read here. Further, the arrest of three Hindu priests has sparked a major controversy with minorities protesting across Bangladesh seeking justice.
In an update to the terrible attacks, social media handles have been reporting that 130 houses and 20 Hindu temples have been vandalized by the Islamist mob in Doarabazar, Sunamganj area of Bangladesh on the night of 3rd December. This is following an alleged blasphemous Facebook comment that locals claim caused insult to Islam.
130 Hindu houses & 20 mandirs have been vandalised by Islamist mobs in Doarabazar, Sunamganj, Bangladesh.
— HinduPost (@hindupost) December 4, 2024
The pretext? An alleged blasphemous FB comment
Demonization of ISKCON, arrests of monks, assaults on lawyers, incessant anti-Hindu mob violencepic.twitter.com/uIisRWnND3
Several social media posts are making rounds in the given case however, none of them could be individually verified by the OpIndia team. The social media posts claim that one of the individuals identified as Akash Das posted an alleged blasphemous remark against Islam, as a result of which the locals got enraged and resorted to violence.
Urgent Alert: ISKCON, Loknath, and Durga temples, along with Hindu homes and shops in Doarabazar, Sunamganj, have been vandalized. The Hindu village of Manglar Gao is now under siege by Islamic militants. #SaveBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/t3n87IkHbl
— Voice Of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@hindu8789) December 4, 2024
At present, police and the army have been deployed in the area as the violence is underway in the Mongla Gao region of Bangladesh.
The ISKCON,Loknath,Durga temple, Hindu houses & shops in Doarabazar Upazila,Sunamganj dist. 've been vandalized,following rumors that a local boy's insulted religion.Violence is also ongoing in Mongla Gao,The army has been deployed to control the situation#SaveBangladeshiHindhu pic.twitter.com/QSU5m99VrC
— fact Check (@Challbcomlght) December 3, 2024
Notably, on 3rd December, a senior Bangladeshi government official claimed that the minority Hindu community was more protected in Bangladesh under the rule of the interim government than they were during the administration of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In an exclusive interview with India Today, Shafiqul Alam, the press secretary of the Muhammad Yunus government, claimed that Indian media was running an “industrial scale misinformation campaign” to spread false narratives about minorities being targeted in Bangladesh.
“Hindus are well protected here. They are more protected than they were during Sheikh Hasina’s regime. What we are witnessing here is an industrial scale misinformation campaign originating from India,” Alam was quoted as saying.
Amid this, Alam during the interview confirmed that one of the Hindu temples in the Chittagong region was attacked, and an effort to strike three Iskcon centers in the previous week was executed. He however said that security in the region has been increased.
In the given case, no details regarding the violence could be independently verified by OpIndia. The story is still developing. Further details will be reported once obtained.
