High Court refuses to ban ISKCON in Bangladesh

reported days after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of a Hindu leader arrested on sedition charges.

The lawyer had sought a ban from the high court on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.

The court had asked the attorney general to inform it about the steps taken by the government regarding ISKCON's recent activities, according to The Daily Star.

Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested this week, was earlier expelled from ISKCON. His arrest triggered clashes on Tuesday during which Advocate Saiful Islam, an assistant public prosecutor, was killed.

When the High Court proceedings started on Thursday, the attorney general's office placed the information sought by the court before the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury, The Daily Star said.

Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque and Deputy Attorney General Asad Uddin informed the HC bench that three separate cases have been filed in connection with the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif and ISKCON's activities, and 33 accused have been arrested in these cases.

The bench then hoped that the government would remain cautious about protecting the law and order situation and lives and properties of the people of Bangladesh, the newspaper added.

India on Tuesday noted with “deep concern” Das' arrest and denial of bail, and urged Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all other minority groups.

Separately, a group of Supreme Court lawyers sent a legal notice to Bangladesh government on Wednesday seeking a ban on ISKCON describing it as a “radical organisation.”

The notice, sent by Al Mamun Russell on behalf of 10 lawyers, also demanded prosecution of those responsible for Advocate Islam's murder, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper said quoting the notice.

“ISKCON has been operating in Bangladesh as a radical organisation, engaging in activities designed to provoke communal unrest,” the notice alleged.

Citing a book by former Bangladeshi intelligence officials, the notice alleges that ISKCON has been promoting religious events “with the intent of inciting sectarian violence,” “imposing its beliefs on traditional Hindu communities,” and forcibly recruiting members from lower Hindu castes, the newspaper said.

Russel's notice was addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Inspector General of Police and called for an immediate ban on ISKCON in Bangladesh under relevant section of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009.

Earlier, the ISKCON had urged the Bangladesh authorities to promote "peaceful coexistence" for Hindus in the country as it "strongly" denounced Das' arrest.

Das, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday as he was about to fly to Chattogram to join a rally.

He was denied bail and sent to jail by the Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court in a sedition case on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, ISKCON Bangladesh General Secretary Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said, "We express our serious concern and strongly denounce the recent arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das ... We also condemn the subsequent violence and attacks against Sanatanis in various regions of Bangladesh."