Kolkata: Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch takes out protest march to Bangladesh Deputy High Commission

Kolkata: Members of Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch on Thursday took out a rally to the office of Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata protesting atrocities on the Hindu community and arrest of spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in the neighbouring country.

The protesters marching to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission from Sealdah station were stopped by the police on their way.

Some of the protesters jostled with the police and tried to break through the barricades to move ahead, but were prevented by a large contingent of police force.

Police put up barricades to prevent the protesters from reaching near the deputy high commission office at Beckbagan in south Kolkata.

Demanding the release of the jailed Chinmoy Krishna Das, a protest kirtan was held at the Albert Road centre of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).

"Through the kirtan, we want to give the message to the minorities in Bangladesh that we have not forgotten them and they are in our thoughts," ISKCON spokesperson Radharamn Das said.

The participants in the kirtan held placards bearing the slogans "We are not terrorists" and "Protect our temples".

Das said that there are more than 100 ISKCON temples in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's minority Hindus, which constitute only about 8 per cent of the 170 million population, have faced over 200 attacks in 50-odd districts since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5.

Hindu spiritual leader Das was arrested in a sedition case. He was later denied bail by a court, triggering protests by community members in various locations, including the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram.