6 detained from Ctg Janmashtami rally for demanding release of ex-Iskcon leader Chinmoy
The detainees were picked up from the Anderkilla area around noon when the rally, organised by the Janmashtami Udjapon Parishad, was about to end.
Police detained six people from the traditional Janmashtami procession in Chattogram today (16 August) after they displayed placards and chanted slogans demanding the release of former Iskcon leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.
The detainees were picked up from the Anderkilla area around noon when the rally, organised by the Janmashtami Udjapon Parishad, was about to end.
Confirming the incident, Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Karim told The Business Standard, "We detained six individuals during the rally. Placards demanding the release of Chinmoy Das were recovered from them. The organisers had earlier asked us to stay alert to avoid any untoward incident, so police were on high alert."
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"We are now interrogating the detainees. If no involvement in illegal activities is found, they will be handed over to their guardians," he added.
Janmashtami Udjapon Parishad General Secretary RK Dash Rupu said the committee was not aware of the detention. "We are looking into the matter."
A volunteer on duty at the rally said, "We saw a few young men suddenly chanting slogans demanding Chinmoy's release. Police rushed in and detained them right away."
The procession started from Anderkilla intersection and moved through Laldighi Par and New Market before concluding at JM Sen Hall premises.
Chinmoy, a former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), drew attention after organising meetings and rallies with minority groups following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024.
He was arrested on 25 November last year at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in connection with a sedition case filed at Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station.
The case, lodged on 30 October, accused him and 18 others of insulting the national flag.
A Chattogram court later sent him to jail, where he has remained since.
On 26 November, when Chinmoy was denied bail, his supporters staged a protest in the court premises and clashed with the police.
A lawyer named Saiful Islam Alif was killed in front of Rangam Convention Hall during the clash. A total of five cases were filed in this connection, and Chinmoy was later shown arrested in all of them.
