Regan Acharya, one of the lawyers of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Kumar Das was brutally attacked and his chambers ransacked in Bangladesh.
Radharaman Das, vice-president and spokesperson for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Kolkata, posted on X and posted videos of Mr Acahrya’s chambers, which, according to him, was vandalised.
The post has since been seemingly deleted from Mr Das’s account.
Hours after the ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson’s claim, a court in Bangladesh postponed Chinmoy Kumar Das’ bail hearing, owing to unavailability of anyone to represent him.
Chinmoy Kumar Das’ bail hearing has been postponed for 2 January.
At the backdrop against the attack on Mr Acharya, Mr Das had appealed to the Bangladesh government to ensure the safety of lawyers willing to represent Hindu monk Chinmoy Kumar Das in an ongoing case, following a brutal attack on his lawyer.
ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson claimed that another of the monk’s lawyer, Ramen Roy, who was defending Chinmoy Krishna Das, was attacked by a group of Islamists at his home in Bangladesh.
According to him, no new lawyer has come forward to represent Chinmoy Krishna Das following the attack on Roy, citing safety concerns.
“No new lawyer has come up to fight his case till now. Those who want to fight the case are afraid that they might face the same consequences as Ramen Roy. We would request the Bangladesh government to provide the lawyers who are willing to fight the case with adequate safety and security,” he said.
“It must be ensured that such targeted attacks are dealt with sternly. The situation is deeply alarming and highlights the hostile environment faced by those supporting justice for minorities in Bangladesh,” he added.
According to Radharamn Das, Roy’s only “fault” was defending Chinmoy Krishna Das in court.
The attack left Roy critically injured, and he is currently in the ICU, fighting for his life, ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson claimed.
Chinmoy Kumar Das, who served as a spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday while en route to Chattogram to attend a rally.
He was denied bail and sent to jail on Tuesday by a court in the neighbouring country.