Bangladesh: Pakistan-Jamaat-e-Islami behind Yunus regime decision to appeal against Chinmoy Das bail

The Bangladesh interim regime ostensibly under pressure from Pakistan and radical Jamaat-e-Islami have appealed to the Supreme Court's chamber judge to stay the bail order of Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.

The Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Das in a sedition case. Immediately after the bail order was issued, the state filed an application with the Chamber Court seeking a stay of the order.

The court did not stay the High Court order but set a hearing date. Das’s bail approval was challenged under pressure from radical Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan, ET has learnt.


In February, the Bangladesh High Court had asked the Bangladeshi government to explain why Das should not be granted bail, as confirmed by his lawyer.

Das, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sanatani Jagran Jote and a former ISKCON leader, has been accused of insulting the national flag of Bangladesh and is facing sedition charges.

The complaint against Das was filed by Enamul Haque, a Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh member. Notably, Hefazat-e-Islalm is a fundamentalist group formed in 2010 which is against progressive laws and bats for Islamic law imposition in Bangladesh. His complaint was filed in the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Md Abu Bakar Siddique.

Das was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area of Dhaka in connection with a sedition case filed in Chattogram on November 25.

Bangladesh's minority Hindus, which constitute only about 8 per cent of the 170 million population, have faced hundreds of attacks in 50-odd districts of the country since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5.

Das had earlier demanded that the interim government in Bangladesh take strong action against the fundamentalists fomenting trouble in that country and arrest them so as to build confidence among the minorities.