'Fundamentalist threats against our devotees increasing in Bangladesh': ISKCON

Kolkata, Dec 8 (PTI) ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das on Sunday alleged that fundamentalist groups in Bangladesh are openly delivering sermons calling for the extermination of ISKCON devotees and their supporters.

In a post on X, Das claimed, "In the past few days, fundamentalists in Bangladesh have been crisscrossing the country in private jets, delivering sermons calling for the extermination of ISKCON devotees and their supporters... the inaction of the Bangladeshi government in addressing these fundamentalists is even more appalling." A purported video, which could not be independently verified by PTI, has also surfaced on social media showing a Bangladeshi fundamentalist leader allegedly referring to ISKCON as "a cancer" and urging followers to "uproot all ISKCON establishments" from Bangladesh.

Das warned that such unchecked hate speech and instigation could trigger mass violence against minorities. "These individuals must be arrested immediately. Wake up, world," he urged.

He asserted that arrested spiritual leader in Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das, had been organising peaceful protests on behalf of minority Hindus for the past few months, ever since the formation of the interim government, and had not engaged in any criminal or anti-national activities.

"He was targeted because he became the face of the minority protests, which only sought assurances from the Yunus government regarding the safety of their property and places of worship in light of the developments since August. Instead of addressing his concerns, the Yunus government chose to silence him by imprisoning him," he alleged, adding that there are orchestrated efforts by the interim government to suppress Hindus, but these efforts will ultimately fail.

The ISKCON spokesperson, however, remained hopeful about a positive outcome from the proposed bilateral foreign secretary-level meeting in Dhaka on Monday. PTI