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A lawyer has filed a petition with the High Court seeking a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in a sedition case amid discussions and criticism over the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson of the Sammilita Sanatan Jagaran Jote, or United Sanatan Awakening Alliance, and the violent protests that followed.
The court summoned the attorney general to hear the state’s opinion on the matter, initially asking for it to submit a report within a day.
The lawyer lodged the petition with a newspaper report at the High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury on Wednesday.
Later, the attorney general said he had told the court that it would not be appropriate to take any decision immediately.
“The government is seriously looking into this. Action is already being taken.”
Regarding ISKCON, he told the court that the government will look into whether this organisation was registered, whether it could be banned, and what legal action could be taken against it and present it to the court.
The attorney general sought a day for the information to be collected.
The court later asked for a report by Thursday.
Chinmoy, a Hindu priest and a religious minority leader in Bangladesh, has been advocating on behalf of the Hindu community across Bangladesh, raising an eight-point charter of demands, including an end to the persecution of religious minorities.
He was arrested at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport by Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch on Monday.
He was brought to a Chattogram court in a ‘sedition’ case around 10:45am on Tuesday amid tight security.
The court sent Chinmoy Krishna to jail, turning down his bail appeal.
Following the jail order, the protesters clashed with lawyers and others in the area, leaving lawyer Saiful Islam Alif dead and several others injured.