Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Bangladeshi Hindu priest charged with sedition, faces major setback as lawyers did not appear to represent him during his bail hearing on Tuesday in Chattogram Court.
The Chattogram court further postponed the bail hearing for January 2, reports add.
Chinmoy Krishna Das, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while he was en route to Chattogram to attend a rally.
He was denied bail and sent to jail last week.
ISKCON said on Monday that Advocate Ramen Roy, who had been the defence counsel for Bangladesh's Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu in a sedition case was beaten up in the same country and is fighting for life in a hospital.
This, according to ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharaman Das, who claims Roy's only "fault" was that he had been defending Chinmoy Krishna Das in the court. A group of Islamists ransacked his home.
The attack has left Roy critically injured, and he is currently fighting for his life in the ICU, said ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson.
"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," he posted on X, along with a picture of Roy in the ICU.
He further appealed for the safety of Bangladeshi Hindus and the immediate release of the ISKCON priest.
This came at a time when attacks on minorities had increased in Bangladesh under the leadership of Muhammad Yunus, who led the interim government in the neighboring country. However, with reports appearing that minorities were being targeted in Bangladesh, India had, through various channels urged the government of Bangladesh to ensure minorities' safety.
Speaking to a Bengali news channel, Das, also ISKCON Kolkata Vice-President, said, "This brutal attack on advocate Roy is a direct consequence of his legal defense of Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu. It reflects the growing danger faced by those who defend the rights of religious minorities in Bangladesh."
At one time, Hindus formed around 22 percent of Bangladesh's population. During the 1971 Liberation War, however, there were Hindus in all significant numbers. In fact, Hindus were once an integral part of Bangladesh society but their number has dwindled down to a mere eight percent of the total population.
The decline is not simply due to exodus over the years but socio-political marginalisation and sporadic violence against them.
Protesters were allegedly seen breaking into the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala on Monday over the atrocities against the minorities in that country.
High Commission: The breach in the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission happened at a time when a bus of Agartala-Kolkata was attacked on Saturday allegedly by miscreants following an accident with it at Vishwa Road in Bangladesh's Brahmanbaria district, which was going from Dhaka.
These happenings also take place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between India and Bangladesh, particularly after a series of increased attacks on Hindus and their places of worship in Bangladesh following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this year.
Bangladesh has coincided political instability with a series of mob attacks on the minority Hindu community. Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry had said that the Indian government has taken the incidents of attacks on minorities seriously and communicated its concerns to Bangladesh authorities.
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