ISKCON claimed on Monday that Advocate Ramen Roy, who defended Bangladesh’s Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in a legal case, was brutally attacked in the neighboring country and is now fighting for his life in hospital. According to ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharaman Das, Roy’s only fault was defending Chinmoy Krishna Das in court, and a group of Islamists ransacked his home, leaving him critically injured in the ICU.
Das, also ISKCON Kolkata Vice President, stated that this brutal attack on advocate Roy is a direct consequence of his legal defense of Chinmoy Krishna Das and reflects the growing danger faced by those who defend the rights of religious minorities in Bangladesh. The attack comes as Chinmoy Krishna Das, who served as spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 while en route to Chattogram to attend a rally and was denied bail on Thursday by a Bangladesh court.
The Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides for around 30 minutes under tight security, a month after no lawyer could step in to represent Chinmoy in Chattogram court as Islamists threatened them with public thrashing. Chinmoy’s previous lawyer, Rabindranath Ghosh, who tried to get legal help for him in December, is admitted to Kolkata’s SSKM Hospital.
These attacks on minorities in Bangladesh have increased under Muhammad Yunus, who has led the interim government after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Historically, Hindus made up around 22 percent of Bangladesh’s population during the 1971 Liberation War, but the Hindu population has experienced a significant decline to only around 8 percent now, largely attributed to socio-political marginalization, exodus, and sporadic violence over the years.
