No lawyer to represent Hindu monk in Bangladesh court, bail hearing deferred now to Jan 2

Dhaka: A Bangladesh court on Tuesday deferred to next month a hearing on the bail petition of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, arrested on a sedition charge, as no lawyer appeared on his behalf. Swatantra Gauranga Das, an associate of the monk at his Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, claimed that no lawyer represented the Hindu leader due to threats from a "politically motivated lawyers' group".

The bail hearing at the Chattogram court has now been postponed to January 2.

Das' arrest on November 25 had triggered demonstrations by supporters of the monk, who was previously with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). In Chattogram, an assistant government prosecutor, Saiful Islam Alif, was killed in a protest after the monk was denied bail.


The arrest also intensified the row between India and Bangladesh over attacks on Hindus after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister and an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over.

A government prosecutor told reporters that the court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Saiful Islam rescheduled the bail hearing after a plea by the prosecution side "as no lawyer appeared as defence counsel".

There was heavy security in the Chattogram court area for the bail hearing. Das was not brought to the court for the hearing. A Chattogram Bar Association leader and other lawyers were seen holding a protest march on the court premises.

India has been expressing concern over the situation in Bangladesh. In a recent statement, Hasina targeted Yunus over the monk's arrest while also condemning the killing of the lawyer.