Former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Das charged with murder in B’desh
Times of India | 26 August 2025
Kolkata: News reports from Bangladesh indicating that former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das was charged with murder in a Chittagong court on Monday drew shock and condemnation in Kolkata.
Radharamn Das, vice-president and spokesperson, ISKCON Kolkata, said: "It is now nine months since the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu on Nov 25, 2024. When Bangladesh High Court granted him bail on April 30, 2025, we were hopeful that he would be released. But on the very same day, fresh fabricated cases were registered against him, only to ensure his continued imprisonment. This is nothing but a denial of justice to a peaceful monk whose only ‘crime' was standing up for the rights of Hindus and minorities in Bangladesh.
""Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu and others only organised peaceful protests, urging govt to consider their 8-point charter of demands. Instead of dialogue, the response has been repression," he added. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in KolkataRadharamn said: "I am deeply pained to learn from his mother that Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu's health has worsened in prison, while she herself is also unwell. This suffering must end. The international community must not remain silent in the face of persecution. We call for the immediate release of Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu and demand stronger protection for Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh. Justice delayed is justice denied.
"Rabindra Ghosh, the Bangladesh lawyer who moved a bail plea for Chinmoy earlier, said: "The allegations are baseless, motivated and not based on law. We should go to the high court division bench and appeal to quash the proceedings against Chinmoy Krishna Das.
" Ghosh, who is in India for treatment, is hopeful that his Bangladesh counterparts are looking into every possible remedy to get the former monk out of prison.
Bangladesh's Daily Star reported on Monday that a Chittagong court accepted the charge sheet against 39 people in connection with the murder case of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif, who was hacked to death on Nov 26 last year. Chinmoy was among the 39 accused.
Chinmoy, also the spokesperson for Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was shown arrested in the Alif murder case by a court on May 5 following a police application. It is alleged that Alif, a lawyer of Chattogram Court, was brutally beaten and hacked to death outside the court premises during a clash involving Chinmoy's supporters, police and a group of lawyers.