The Dhaka High Court of Bangladesh on Wednesday granted bail to jailed Hindu saint Chinmay Krishna Das. Chinmay Das has been in jail for the last 5 months on charges of sedition. Chinmay’s lawyer Apurv Kumar Bhattacharya had filed a bail petition in the High Court on 23 April. Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star has quoted Chinmay Das’s lawyer as saying that Chinmay’s release has not been decided yet. If the Bangladeshi Supreme Court does not stay this decision, Chinmay will be released. Chinmay is accused of insulting the national flag of Bangladesh. In this case, a sedition case was registered and he was arrested on 25 November 2024. Earlier on January 2, the lower court of Chittagong rejected his bail plea. Police arrested him from the airport while going to Chittagong Bangladesh Police arrested Chinmay Krishna Das Brahmachari from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on 25 November last year. Then he was going to Chittagong. ISKCON members present on the spot said that the DB police did not show any arrest warrant. They just said that they wanted to talk. After this, they took them away in a microbus. Additional Police Commissioner Rezaul Karim Mallick of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police had said that Chinmay Krishna Das was arrested after the request of the police. After this, Chinmay Das was handed over to the concerned police station for legal process. Who is Saint Chinmay Prabhu? The real name of Chinmay Krishna Das Brahmachari is Chandan Kumar Dhar. He is the head of Chittagong ISKCON. PM Sheikh Hasina left the country on 5 August 2024 amid the ongoing violence in Bangladesh. After this, violent incidents took place with Hindus on a large scale. After this, Sanatan Jagran Manch was formed to protect the interests of Bangladeshi Hindus and minorities. Chinmay Prabhu became its spokesperson. Through Sanatan Jagran Manch, Chinmay addressed several rallies in Chittagong and Rangpur. Thousands of people participated in it. Why was Chinmay Prabhu arrested? On 25 October, Natan Jagran Manch held a rally at Laldighi Maidan in Chittagong with 8 point demands. Chinmay Krishna Das also addressed it. During this, some people hoisted a saffron flag on the Azadi Pillar at New Market Chowk. Ami Sanatani was written on this flag. After the rally, on 31 October, Begum Khaleda Zia’s BNP party leader Feroz Khan filed a sedition case against 19 people including Chinmay Krishna Das in Chittagong. They are accused of insulting the national flag.
