ISKCON Bangladesh Distances Itself From Chinmoy Krishna Das Activities, Says ‘Want To Make Clear…’

Amid a row over the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, ISKCON Bangladesh on Thursday distanced itself from the monk and said that his “actions are not representative” of the religious body. According to the Dhaka Tribune, Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the general secretary of ISKCON Bangladesh, said that the monk has been removed from all the positions of the organisation citing breach of discipline.

Das also clarified that ISKCON has no involvement in the activities of the Chinmoy Krishna.

“Several months ago, Leelaraj Gour Das, head of Prabartak Sri Krishna Mandir, Gaurang Das, and Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sri Sri Pundarik Dham in Chittagong, were removed from their positions and all organizational activities within ISKCON due to violations of discipline. It was clearly stated that their actions are not representative of ISKCON,” he said today.

“There are ongoing attempts to wrongly associate ISKCON Bangladesh with the death of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif in Chittagong. We want to make it clear that Iskcon Bangladesh has no involvement in this tragic event or the ongoing protests. This false narrative has even escalated to the point where road accidents are being attributed to Iskcon,” he was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi daily.

The statement comes after the Bangladesh High Court rejected a petition seeking a ban on ISKCON’s activities in the country, days after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of a Hindu leader, previously linked to the religious group. A lawyer had sought a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.

“The two-member High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury on Thursday declined to ban the ISKCON activities in Bangladesh,” a spokesman of the attorney general’s office said.

Chinmoy, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday as he was about to fly to Chattogram to join a rally. He was denied bail and sent to jail by Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate Court in a sedition case on Tuesday.