Bangladesh: No relief for arrested ISKCON leader Chinmoy Das; bail hearing set for Jan 2

Dhaka: Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das failed to get any relief on Tuesday as his bail hearing in a Bangladesh court was postponed for a month due to the unavailability of any lawyer to represent him, according to a media report.

After an initial hearing on the bail petition on Tuesday, the judge set January 2 for another hearing, Chattogram Metropolitan Police ADC (Prosecution) Mofizur Rahman was quoted as saying by bdnews24.com.

Das will have to wait a month to see if he will receive bail in a sedition case against him, it said.

His bail plea was set to be heard by the court of Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam on Tuesday, but no lawyer appeared on Chinmoy's behalf at the hearing, the report added.

There was heavy security in the Chattogram court area for the bail hearing. Large deployments of security officials from different forces took up positions nearby.

Das was not brought to court for the hearing. A leader from the Chattogram Bar Association and other lawyers were seen holding a protest march on the court premises.

Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 for alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chattogram court on November 26, triggering protests by his supporters.

A lawyer was killed during violence in Bangladesh's southeastern port city of Chattogram over his arrest.

After Das was denied bail, his lawyers immediately filed a revision petition, seeking another hearing. However, no hearing took place that day.

The relations between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.

India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.

There has been a rise in violent attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh. Hindu minority groups have been frequently reporting atrocities against their community members in different parts of Bangladesh, even after Yunus took charge.