B’desh HC orders Hindu leader’s release

Dhaka, April 30: A bench of Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday ordered release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on bail, five months after he was arrested on a charge of defaming the country’s national flag, court officials said.
“The two-judge bench declared absolute its earlier rule asking authorities why he should not be granted bail,” an official of the High Court said.
The bench granted the bail after the final hearing on their previous rule.
On October 31, a case with Kotwali police station in Chattogram was filed accusing Das and 18 others of disrespecting the Bangladesh national flag.
A former ISKCON leader, Das was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 last year.
A spokesperson for the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, a Hindu organisation, Das was taken to the court at the southeastern port city of Chattogram, which sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition the next day.
Das’ arrest sparked widespread protests with his followers demonstrating in Dhaka and other places. In the port city, the protest turned violent when assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif was hacked to death, hours after Das was sent to jail.
Earlier, the lawyers of the Hindu community leader had failed to secure bail for him as the lower court in Chattogram denied their petitions. (PTI)