DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police in Bangladesh’s capital have arrested a outstanding Hindu chief who has been main rallies demanding safety for Hindus within the overwhelmingly Muslim nation since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the nation amid a mass rebellion in August.
Hindus and members of different minority teams say they’ve confronted extra assaults than ever since an interim authorities changed the ousted prime minister, as Islamist teams have change into extra outstanding and demoralized safety businesses have left a safety vacuum. The federal government says the risk to Hindus has been exaggerated.
Round 91% of Bangladesh’s inhabitants is Muslim, with Hindus making up virtually the entire relaxation.
Officers, witnesses and native media experiences mentioned that Krishna Das Prabhu, often known as Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, was arrested in Dhaka’s important airport on Monday whereas touring to Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh.
Rezaul Karim Mallik, an official of the Detective Department of Police, confirmed Prabhu’s arrest. Different officers additionally confirmed however wouldn’t present additional particulars on the costs.
Kushal Baran Chakrabarty, who was accompanying Prabhu on the time of his arrest, mentioned that a number of detectives took the Hindu chief to a police automobile on the airport.
“Chinmoy Prabhu gave his cellphone to me as he was forcefully taken to the police automobile. The police detectives jostled with us to forcefully take his cellphone and so they took it away. We then adopted the police automobile that headed for the headquarters of the Detective Department at Minto Street in Dhaka,” he mentioned. “We stayed exterior the Detective Department’s workplace.”
Prabhu faces costs of sedition filed in October after he led an enormous rally in Chattogram through which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s nationwide flag. Dhaka-based main Prothom Alo every day reported that Prabhu can be produced earlier than a courtroom on Tuesday, and that two different folks have been arrested within the case.
Since August, Prabhu has led a number of giant rallies demanding security for the Hindus, because the interim authorities led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus mentioned experiences of assaults have been exaggerated.
Many within the interim authorities see the rallies by Hindus as a risk to stability and a ploy to rehabilitate Hasina and her Awami League occasion.
The long-ruling secular occasion is seen as a protector of the Hindu minority and has shut ties to neighboring India. Tons of of Hasina’s supporters, together with many shut aides, are believed to have fled to India after her fall.
Prabhu is a outstanding Hindu chief and a revered determine. He’s a member of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group. He’s additionally related to the Worldwide Society for Krishna Consciousness, extensively generally known as the Hare Krishna motion, and acts as a spokesman for the group in Bangladesh.
Prabhu’s followers took to the streets in Chattogram and Dhaka to demand his launch in a while Monday.
In Dhaka, a mob armed with sticks attacked Hindu protesters on Monday night time at Shahbagh intersection close to the Dhaka College.
Kalbela, a Bengali-language every day, mentioned in a video report on Monday night time that the attackers drove the Hindu protesters away from the realm.
Hasina fled the nation on Aug. 5 after a student-led protest morphed right into a mass rebellion, ending her 15-year rule. The nation’s safety businesses are struggling to maintain order because the police businesses remained demoralized after dozens of their members had been killed throughout the mass rebellion in July and August.
