Guwahati: The Bangladesh High Court has granted bail to former ISKCON leader Chandan Kumar Dhar, popularly known as Chinmoy Krishna Das, in a sedition case linked to alleged disrespect of the national flag during a rally in Chattogram.
“He is expected to be released from the jail following the HC order, unless the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stays the HC verdict,” Advocate Prahlad Debnath, a lawyer for Chinmoy, told Bangladesh-based The Daily Star.
The bail comes nearly six months after Chinmoy was arrested in connection with the case filed by Firoz Khan, former general secretary of Chattogram’s Mohora ward BNP.
Khan had lodged the complaint with Kotwali Police Station on October 31, accusing Chinmoy and 18 others of disrespecting the national flag during a rally on October 25 in the port city’s New Market area.
He was arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25 and sent to jail the following day after a Chattogram court rejected his bail plea.
The arrest has triggered widespread outrage, with many demanding his immediate release.
The Court, however, denied the bail plea in January despite Das’s defence team arguing that he held deep respect for the motherland, comparable to the reverence for his mother, and was not a traitor.
On April 23 this year, Chinmoy’s lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee had urged the High Court to consider bail, citing his client’s illness and prolonged incarceration without trial.
Das serves as the spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, a group that champions the rights and security of minorities. He has been a vocal advocate for the Hindu (Sanatani) community in Bangladesh, calling for key reforms such as a minority protection law, a tribunal for fast-tracking cases of minority persecution, and the establishment of a dedicated ministry of minority affairs.
Since the political upheaval following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024, Das has emerged as a leading voice against the escalating violence and discrimination faced by Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
