London, Nov 29: The U.K. Conservative MP Bob Blackman lashed out at the Bangladeshi interim government over the attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August this year. “I condemned the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and the imprisonment of Chinmoy Krishna Das. Freedom of religion must be preserved globally,” the MP wrote on X. He added, “I am also concerned by the attempt in their High Court to rule that #ISKCON should be banned from the country.” He added that there was an attempt made in the Bangladesh court to ban the ISKCON which is a direct threat to minorities in the country.
“We have fought for the freedom of Bangladeshi and we cannot allow any government there to persecute minorities there,” the MP said. Chinmoy Krishna, also known as Krishna Prabhu Das, was taken into custody by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday at 4:30 pm. Chinmoy Krishna Das was taken into custody by Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Monday. Chinmoy Krishna was not only associated with the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajot (BJHM), a grand national alliance of 23 religious organisations in the country but also with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
As the news about Chinmoy Krishna’s arrest spread on social media, several protests broke out in Chittagong, demanding his immediate release. It was reported that protesters marched and rallied at the Cheragi intersection in the city, chanting slogans and demanding his release. Several videos that went viral on social media late Monday evening 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. The Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad had earlier sent an ‘open letter’ to Yunus, expressing “profound sorrow and concern” over a particular group’s “unprecedented violence” against the minorities.