The High Court on April 30, granted bail to former ISKCON spokesperson and prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was jailed under a sedition case last year. The court decision, reported by The Daily Star, comes after a prolonged legal battle and increasing scrutiny over the government’s treatment of religious minorities following the collapse of the Awami League regime.
A bench comprising Justice Md Atoar Rahman and Justice Md Ali Reza passed the bail order after hearing the petition submitted by Das’s legal team.
Advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee and Prahlad Debnath, representing Das, argued that the Hindu leader had been languishing in prison without trial since November 2024, despite his deteriorating health.
Das, also known as Krishna Das Prabhu or Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, was arrested near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25, 2024. He was later incarcerated by a Chattogram court the next day, which rejected his bail plea. Another bail attempt on December 11 also failed, leading to his continued imprisonment until today’s reprieve from the High Court.
The case, registered on October 31, 2024, under Kotwali Police Station, has drawn widespread attention for its timing and targeting, particularly since it followed Das’s vocal criticism of the rising tide of fundamentalism in Bangladesh. Das had publicly urged the interim administration to crack down on religious extremists and restore confidence among the country’s vulnerable minority communities.
Since the August 5, 2024 fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government, Bangladesh has witnessed a chilling surge in communal violence. Human rights organisations report that Hindu communities — which make up just 8 per cent of the country’s 170 million population — have suffered attacks in over 50 districts. Mandirs vandalised, homes torched, and murtis desecrated the wave of anti-Hindu violence has left hundreds displaced and in fear.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, who once served as the spokesperson for ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in Bangladesh, has long been at the forefront of highlighting such violations. As a member of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote, Das has consistently spoken out against attacks on mandirs, targeted hate crimes, and institutional apathy.
His arrest in the wake of these efforts has been seen by many as an attempt to silence Hindu voices of resistance amid deepening authoritarian trends. During the April 23, 2025 hearing, Das’s legal team had pleaded for urgent relief, citing his ill health and the absence of a formal trial.
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