DHAKA: Bangladesh’s leading political parties have called for calm following widespread unrest in the country triggered by the killing of a lawyer during clashes between Hindu protesters and security forces.

Public prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif died on Tuesday as angry supporters of outspoken Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari — arrested for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally — battled with police when he was denied bail.

Religious relations have been turbulent in Bangladesh since a student-led revolution in August toppled autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, who then fled to India.

The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-i-Islami — Sheikh Hasina’s two main opponents during her 15-year tenure —have urged restraint.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Secretary General of BNP, was quoted by a newspaper as having said that a “defeated fascist group” was behind the latest flare-up, a reference to Awami League.

“This incident is completely unwarranted,” he told the newspaper.

“We strongly condemn it and urge everyone to approach the situation calmly.”

Shafiqur Rahman of Jamaat blamed the ongoing unrest on a “vested group plotting to destabilise the country”.

Street protests have nonetheless been called to demand a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a transnational Hindu religious group also known as the Hare Krishna movement that Das reportedly belonged to.

Hefazat-i-Islam, a collective of Islamic seminaries, held a rally on Friday to demand the group’s prohibition, alleging it was a front to return Sheikh Hasina to power on behalf of India.

“There is a meticulously designed plan to instigate communal riots in Bangladesh and ISKCON is here to implement it on behalf of India and Sheikh Hasina,” Mamunul Haque of Hefazat-i-Islam told supporters during the rally.

Shiekh Hasina demanded Das’s “immediate release” from custody earlier this week and called his arrest “illegal”, BBC reported.

The ex-premier also condemned the killing of the lawyer, calling it a “blatant violation of human rights”.

India has described Das’s arrest and denial of bail as “unfortunate”.

But ISKCON denies any connections to Das.

“We expelled Chinmoy long before the case was filed against him for breaching ISKCON’s discipline,” the group’s Bangladesh president, Satya Ranjan Barai, said on Friday.

“He was relieved of his duties, but he defied the order and continued his activities.”

Bangladesh’s top court on Thursday dismissed a petition calling for a ban on ISKCON.

“Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians... believe in co-existence, and this harmony will not be broken,” the court ruled.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2024