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Dhaka: The process of atrocities on minorities is not stopping in Bangladesh. According to a media report, dozens of ISKCON members along with their travel documents were sent back by Bangladesh Police from Benapole border crossing on Sunday. These ISKCON members were trying to enter India.
The Daily Star newspaper quoted Benapole immigration police officer-in-charge (OC) Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiyan as saying, “We consulted the special branch of the police and instructed higher authorities not to allow them (to cross the border). ” Bhuiyan said the ISKCON members reportedly had valid passports and visas, but did not have the necessary government permission for their travel. “They cannot proceed without such permission,” he said.
54 members, including devotees from different districts, had reached the check post on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Even after waiting for hours for permission, he was told that his journey was not authorized. Saurabh Tapandar Cheli, one of the ISKCON members, said, “We had come to attend a religious function being held in India, but immigration officials stopped us, citing lack of government permission.”
This development has come at a time when ISKCON is under investigation in Bangladesh after the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case. A lawyer was killed in violence that broke out in the south-eastern port city of Chittagong after Das was refused bail, drawing widespread condemnation and calls for a ban on ISKCON in Bangladesh. Bangladesh authorities have ordered the bank accounts of 17 ISKCON associates, including Chinmoy Krishna Das, to be frozen for 30 days. (Language)
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