According to reports in the media, an ISKCON centre in Shibchar in Bangladesh has been forcibly closed down by a group of people. The development was purportedly over the arrest of an ISKCON priest, Chinmoy Krishna Das, in Bangladesh that India has strongly reacted to.
According to eyewitness reports cited in this connection, army personnel took away the ISKCON devotees in a vehicle.
ISKCON, Kolkata Vice President and Spokesperson Radharaman Das posted on X, "ISKCON Namhatta centre in Shibchar Bangladesh forcefully Closed Down by Muslims. The Army arrived and took away the ISKCON devotees in a vehicle."
Along with his post, Radharaman Das also attached a video that shows a leader of a local Islamic group demanding the closure of the ISKCON office in Shibchar. The video, as claimed by Das, has also shown that some people engaged in removing the board of the ISKCON temple featuring a picture of the founder of this international spiritual institution.
Earlier, Das had said the Bangladesh government's response to the Ministry of External Affairs in reply to the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna was frustratingly high.
Chinmoy Krishna Das was detained by Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Monday as the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus continued to wreak havoc on the country's Hindu community.
Chinmoy Krishna, also known as Krishna Prabhu Das, was arrested by the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday at 4:30 pm.
Chinmoy Krishna was associated not only with the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajot, which is a grand national alliance of 23 religious organisations in the country but also with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as ISKCON.
As news of Chinmoy Krishna's arrest spread on social media, protests erupted in Chittagong demanding his release immediately. It was reported that protesters marched and rallied at the Cheragi intersection in the city, chanting slogans and demanding his release.
Several videos surfaced on social media late Monday evening that showed Bangladeshi policemen targeting the protestors who were marching towards the Cheragi intersection.
The incidents of vandalism, looting, arson, land grabbing, and threats to leave the country have been repeatedly inflicted on the Hindu community after the interim government was sworn-in on August 8 under the leadership of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad had sent an 'open letter' to Yunus with deep sorrow and concern about one particular group's "unprecedented violence" against minorities.
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