High court refuses to ban ISKCON in Bangladesh

People participate in the funeral procession of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif. Pic/AFP

Bangladesh High Court on Thursday rejected a petition seeking a ban on ISKCON's activities in the country, days after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of a Hindu leader, previously linked to the religious group. A lawyer had sought a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.

"The two-member High Court bench on Thursday declined to ban the ISKCON activities in Bangladesh," a spokesman of the attorney general's office said. He said the bench made the decision after the attorney general's office submitted a report on the action taken by the government regarding the death of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif in the northeastern port city of Chattogram earlier this week.

Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachary, arrested earlier this week, was sent to jail by a Chattogram court on sedition charges, sparking a violent protest during which advocate Alif was killed. Chinmoy was earlier expelled from ISKCON. The decision came a day after Attorney-General Mohammad Asaduzzaman urged the court not to take any decisions on the ISKCON issue as the government has started taking the required action.

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