Amid the rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus diplomatic tensions have been going on between India and Bangladesh. The tensions further increased with the arrest of the ISKCON priest in Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das, leading to worldwide protests. Amid the ongoing protests, over 50 ISKCON members were denied permission to come to India and were returned from the border, despite valid passports and visas.
According to the media reports, dozens of ISKCON members who possessed travel documents were turned back on Sunday by Bangladesh’s immigration police from Benapole border crossing when they tried to cross into India. The 54 members, including devotees from several districts, arrived at the check post on Saturday night and Sunday morning. However, even after waiting for hours for permission, they were informed their travel was not authorised. According to the media reports, the Bangladesh police did not allow them to proceed, citing ‘suspicious travel’.
‘We came to participate in a religious ceremony taking place in India but immigration officials stopped us, citing the absence of government permission,’ said Saurabh Tapandar Cheli, one of the ISKCON members. “We consulted the special branch of police and received instructions from the higher authorities not to permit them (to cross the border),” Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge (OC) of the Benapole Immigration Police.
The ISKCON members had valid passports and visas but “lacked specific government permission” required for their travel, Bhuiyan said. “They cannot proceed without such approval,” he said. The latest development comes as the organisation is under scanner in Bangladesh following the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case. Chinmoy was arrested following allegations that he disrespected the national flag of Bangladesh during a rally in Chittagong, which was organised to protest the alleged persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Later, he was denied bail and sent behind bars. A court in Bangladesh has set December 3 as the date for the bail hearing.
Earlier on November 29, two more monks were arrested in Bangladesh while they were returning following meeting Chinmoy Das. The two monks were identified as Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari. Assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif was killed on Tuesday in clashes between police and the supporters of Das in Chattogram which created anger among Bangladeshi nationals, attracting widespread condemnation and demands to ban ISKCON in Bangladesh.
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