New Delhi: After a lawyer was allegedly killed amid a clash between police and those protesting the jailing of a Hindu leader in Bangladesh’s Chattogram, the country’s interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus condemned his killing and ordered an investigation.
Yunus “urged people to keep calm and stay away from participating in any untoward activities”, a statement by the press secretary of Yunus’s office said on Thursday (November 26).
It added that Yunus also directed heightened security in Chattogram – formerly Chittagong – including in its “vulnerable neighbourhoods”.
“The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost,” it also said.
The lawyer, one Saiful Islam, was allegedly killed on Tuesday (November 26) during a clash between police and supporters of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who hours earlier was denied bail and ordered detained on sedition charges by a local court, as per reports.
The Daily Star newspaper quoted Chattogram district bar association president Nazim Uddin Chowdhury as citing eyewitnesses as saying that followers of Chinmoy Krishna “dragged” Islam to a nearby convention centre and “attacked him with sharp weapons”.
Reuters cited a police officer as identifying Islam as a “Muslim lawyer defending Das”. The Prothom Alo newspaper reported that Islam was an assistant public prosecutor.
Supporters of Chinmoy Krishna reportedly blocked the police van carrying him from court to jail for at least an hour. Police attempted to disperse the crowd using lathi charge and tear gas, while the crowd threw flower pots and pieces of brick at the cops.
India’s external affairs ministry noted Chinmoy Krishna’s detention order with “deep concern”, saying that the incident occurred after “the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh”.
It was “unfortunate that while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings,” it continued.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry responded saying that New Delhi’s “unfounded” statement “misrepresent[ed] facts” and stood “contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries”.
“It is with utter dismay and deep sense of hurt that the government of Bangladesh notes that [Chinmoy Krishna’s] arrest has been misconstrued by certain quarters since [he] has been arrested on specific charges,” Dhaka said, saying the issue pertained to Bangladesh’s “internal affairs”.
“The statement [India’s] also does not reflect the harmony that exists” among people of all faiths in Bangladesh and the government’s commitment in this regard, it added.
Chinmoy Krishna, who is affiliated with ISKCON and is a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was accused in October of disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag.
The case statement alleged that Prabhu and others instigated a crowd last month to replace a Bangladeshi flag in Chattogram that was hoisted on the day former premier Sheikh Hasina fled the country with a saffron-coloured one of ISKCON, as per Prothom Alo.
The Daily Star reported that Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, adviser of youth, sports, and local government, stated at an event in Rangpur that Chinmoy Krishna had been arrested on charges of sedition, not as a leader of any community.
AP noted that Chinmoy Krishna had led multiple rallies since August demanding safety for Bangladeshi Hindus.
Over 200 lawyers protested Islam’s killing on Tuesday evening, the Dhaka Tribune reported, adding that they issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the arrest of those responsible.
“If not, we will take necessary actions as a united body, and all courts across the country will cease operations,” a lawyer was quoted as saying.
Since Hasina’s ouster, India has repeatedly raised the issue of protection of Hindus in Bangladesh at several levels.
Relations with the interim government in Dhaka have been strained as the new administration comprises civil society members and student activists who criticised the Awami League government, perceived to be close to New Delhi, for its alleged authoritarianism.
Hasina fled to India on August 5, narrowly escaping as protesters stormed the prime minister’s office complex less than an hour later.