2 More ISKCON Devotees "Missing" In Bangladesh After Hindu Priest's Arrest

A day after the second Hindu monk, Shyam Das Prabhu, was arrested in Bangladesh, two other disciples of arrested spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das have also gone missing in Chattogram, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das claimed on Saturday.

Posting the picture of four Hindu priests, Radharamn Das wrote: "Do they look like terrorists? All of them have been arrested by Bangladeshi police without any reason."

Do they look like terrorists? All of them have been arrested by Bangladeshi police without any reason. #ISKCON #FreeISKCONMonks pic.twitter.com/q60qzDD0Ct

— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) December 1, 2024

He also retweeted a post claiming, "After Chinmoy Krishna Das, two more Hindu saints Ranganath Shyamsunder Das Brahmachari and Rudrapati Keshav Das Brahmachari were arrested from Pundarik Dham by Bangladesh Police."

While there is no official comment on the arrests or detention of Shyam Das Prabhu and two other ISKCON devotees-- who had reportedly gone to deliver food to Chinmoy Krishna Das-- sources said that they were detained by authorities without warrant.

Sources said ISKCON Bangladesh stopped some priests heading to India amid reports of at least four Hindu priests being in custody.

Attacks On Minorities In Bangladesh

Meanwhile, reports of attacks on Hindus continue to come from Bangladesh. Earlier today, a journalist, Munni Saha, was taken into custody after she was targeted by radical Islamist forces and surrounded by a mob. Saha was accosted and threatened by a group of radicals in the heart of Dhaka at Karwan Bazar on Saturday evening while leaving her office. She was later released, sources said.

Journalists in the South Asian country have also complained about facing issues with hundreds of accreditations being cancelled amid radical targeting of the minority community in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government is also targeting ISKCON, with authorities reportedly ordering that freezing for 30 days the bank accounts of 17 people associated with the organisation, including its former member Chinmoy Krishna Das arrested this week on sedition charges.

Another ISKCON center in Bhairav, Bangladesh, has been vandalized. No respite in sight. #SaveBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/ut7CMRb4mn

— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 30, 2024

An ISKCON centre in the Bhairav area of Bangladesh was also vandalized by an angry mob. ISKCON has over 100 centres in Bangladesh, where Hindus comprise approximately 8 per cent of the total 170 million population.

Earlier, three Hindu temples were vandalised by a slogan-shouting mob on Friday in Chattogram, which has witnessed protests and violence since a former ISKCON member Chinmoy Krishna Das was booked.

There are also reports of members of the minority community being attacked by mobs. Sayan Ghosh, a resident of Kolkata, alleges radical elements brutally beat him up during his recent trip to Bangladesh. Mr Ghosh said he was targeted after confirming that he was a Hindu from India. On Saturday night, he returned home through the Gede-Darshan border.

India Concerned

India has conveyed its "serious concern" to Bangladesh over the "increasing incidents of violence" against the minority Hindu community in the neighbouring country. New Delhi has also shared its worry with Dhaka over the "surge in extremist rhetoric".

The Ministry of External Affairs, in its weekly press briefing, told reporters that India has been in touch with the interim government in Bangladesh on a routine and consistent basis regarding the rising cases of communal incidents targeting the Hindu minority.

There's also a political consensus and support among parties in India for the Union government to take appropriate action on the matter.

Speaking on the issue, Trinamool Congress National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee said, "The images surfacing from Bangladesh are infuriating and make blood boil. I have cleared my stand that you have to follow the Constitution of the country and the state has no role in it. The onus is on the Union government to take it up with the Bangladesh government in the strongest manner or in the language they understand."