Hundreds of people from the Hindu community gathered outside the court premises to stage protests after Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a prominent monk of ISKON Bangladesh, was sent to jail on charges of sedition.
Several lawyers also joined the protest near the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Tuesday, November 26, after an arrest order was issued against Das for allegedly insulting the country's flag during a rally in October. The case was filed by a former leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Firoz Khan, who accused the monk and 18 others of insulting the national flag.
The protestors blocked the road below the court building and even gathered around the prison van carrying Chinmoy Das.
According to Bangladesh's news website bdnews24.com, the monk was escorted into the prison van guarded by the police at around 12:15 PM, when his supporters started the protest and surrounded the prison van carrying him. They shouted slogans such as "We wanted our rights but got prison instead", "Jai Shree Ram", and "fake fake", as policemen and security personnel of the Border Guard Bangladesh tried to disperse them.
The security forces resorted to lathi charge to disperse the agitating crowd to maintain law and order. Some of the protestors were also spotted standing atop cars parked in the area. Lawyers were also seen acting as shield and protecting the protestors from the police's lathi charge.
Das was produced in the Chittagong court amid tight security after his detention at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on Monday evening triggered widespread protests across various districts including Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Khulna, Dinajpur and Cox's Bazar. The protests were joined by Muslims and Buddists as well, who were protested against the violation of human rights and freedom of expression.
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Das's legal counsel Swarup Kanti Nath stated that they have filed a case with the Metropolitan Session Judge Court as they were not satisfied with the Magistrate Court’s order, bdnews24.com reported.
Earlier today, Das had appealed for peaceful protests as he left the court premises following the orders, requesting the members of the Hindu community to not resort to violence.
India has expressed concern over Das's arrest but has also said that it will not be raising the issue with Bangladesh since it is an "internal matter" of the country. India will not be taking any immediate action as well as the matter is now sub-judice.