Monk languishing in jail, world watches on: Pawan Kalyan slams Bangladesh over Chinmoy Das' bail denial

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday strongly criticised Bangladesh after Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das was denied bail again in an alleged sedition case.

"500+ days in jail. Bail denied. Again. Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu, a spiritual leader and an ISKCON monk, continues to languish behind bars in Bangladesh while the world watches," Kalyan wrote on X.

The actor-politician questioned the treatment meted out to the Hindu monk and alleged that even legal support was being intimidated. "When even his lawyers are intimidated, threatened, and silenced in court corridors, what justice are we even talking about?" he said.

Kalyan also questioned whether speaking for the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh had become a crime. "Is advocating for the rights of the Minority Hindu community a crime? When a saffron-clad soul is treated like a criminal for raising his voice, the world CANNOT remain silent," he said.

The Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM appealed to the Bangladesh government to provide medical assistance and ensure a fair legal process for Das. "I appeal to the Government of Bangladesh to give medical aid and, more importantly, access to fair justice to Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu immediately. May he be granted bail at the earliest," he said.

Kalyan also targeted what he called "pseudo-secularists and Selective Human rights Activists". "And to all the pseudo-secularists and Selective Human rights Activists around the World who flood timelines overnight, wave watermelons, and trend hashtags on cue, your silence can still be heard. Apparently, your humanity has a filter," he stated.

Bangladesh's High Court on Sunday rejected Das' bail plea, saying he was already being tried in a lower court in connection with the 2024 killing of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif. 

Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25, 2024, in a sedition case.

After he was denied bail by a court in Chattogram, his supporters launched protests in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh. The protests later turned violent in Chattogram, where Alif, a junior government prosecutor, was killed.

Kalyan had also condemned Das' arrest in November last year. At the time, he urged the Bangladesh government under Muhammad Yunus to "stop atrocities on Hindus" and said Hindus in Bangladesh were being targeted.