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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and workers, including West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP leader Agnimitra Paul, held a protest march on Wednesday to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata against the arrest of ISKCON Bangladesh priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari by Dhaka police.
Speaking to ANI, Agnimitra Paul asserted that the Hindus of Bengal would not remain silent if harm befell Chinmoy Krishna Das or any Hindu community members. "We will not accept atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. If anything happens to Chinmoy Prabhuji or our Hindu brothers, we will not sit quiet. Bengal will not sit quiet. Hindus of Bengal will not sit quiet," Paul stated. Earlier on Tuesday, Adhikari and other BJP members protested outside the Legislative Assembly, decrying the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das. Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested on Monday, was presented before a Chittagong court on Tuesday. The court denied his bail plea and remanded him to custody. According to the Dhaka Tribune, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari appeared before Judge Kazi Shariful Islam of the Chittagong Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate's Court at 11 am on Tuesday. His lawyers filed a bail petition, but it was rejected, and he was sent to jail. The priest has been charged with sedition over allegations of raising a flag on a stand bearing Bangladesh's national flag. However, the complainant has reportedly expressed reluctance to pursue the case, according to a minority leader. The Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC), the country's largest minority organisation, expressed concerns over the arrest and urged the interim government to release Chinmoy Krishna Das immediately. "We strongly condemn the arrest of Prabhu Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson of Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, from the Dhaka airport area on Monday afternoon," said Manindra Kumar Nath, Acting General Secretary of BHBCUC. Speaking to ANI, Nath added, "This arrest will tarnish Bangladesh's international reputation regarding freedom of expression and human rights." In a related incident, a lawyer was allegedly killed on Tuesday during clashes in Chittagong linked to the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das. "Saiful Islam Alif, a lawyer, was killed in Chittagong," confirmed Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, President of the Chittagong Bar Association, during a phone conversation with ANI. The motive for the killing remains unclear. "Saiful Islam Alif was brutally hacked to death," said Ashraf Hossain Razzak, General Secretary of the Chittagong Bar Association. In response, the Chittagong Bar Association announced the suspension of court activities on Wednesday to protest the killing of their member. (ANI)
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