Bangladesh summons Indian envoy, suspends mission in Tripura

Bangladesh on Tuesday, 3 December, summoned the Indian envoy to its foreign office while announcing the suspension of consular services at its mission in Agartala, capital of Tripura, a day after the premises were breached by protesters over the arrest of a Hindu monk in the neighbouring country.

There was drama too at a court in Chattogram in Bangladesh, where monk Chinmoy Krishna Das’ bail plea was to be heard. But no lawyer appeared for him, and his supporters later claimed that his advocates were under threat.

The bail hearing in this sedition case will now take place on 2 January.

Tuesday’s developments marked another low in ties between the two countries following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister in August. India has been expressing concern over Hindus and other minorities being targeted in Bangladesh under the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

The issue also figured in the Indian Parliament on Tuesday and the British House of Commons a day earlier.

New Delhi earlier called the breach at the Agartala mission “deeply regrettable”. Tripura Police said seven people have been arrested and action taken against four policemen over the incident. Bangladesh had said its flag was desecrated.

"Given the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala, will remain suspended until further notice. This comes into effect immediately," Md Al-Ameen, the first secretary to the Bangladesh mission, said.

Condemning the incident, Tripura chief minister Manik Saha said, "during the protest rally, a group of youth tried to barge into the Assistant High Commission office of Bangladesh in Agartala. I condemned the incident. Peaceful protest can be allowed but such behaviour is not acceptable."

In a related development, the All Tripura Hotel & Restaurant Owners' Association (ATHROA) said its members would not serve Bangladeshi guests given the insult to the Indian flag there.

Emerging from the meeting with acting Bangladesh foreign secretary Riaz Hamidullah in Dhaka, Indian envoy Pranay Verma said Delhi wanted to build a “constant stable, constructive relationship” and no single issue should stand as a barrier to bilateral ties.

“We are willing to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh,” he told reporters.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s law affairs adviser Asif Nazrul asked New Delhi to reassess its ties with Bangladesh after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

'We believe in a friendship based on equality and mutual respect. While Sheikh Hasina's government followed a pro-India policy to cling to power without elections, India must realise that this is not Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh,' he wrote on Facebook.

Tensions between the two neighbours have simmered since 5 August, when Hasina fled to India in the face of large-scale anti-government protests led by students, even as Hindutva ideologues abjured the presence of Bangladeshi 'infiltrators' on Indian soil ahead of various polls and by-polls across the nation.

Now, cross-border relations have been aggravated further with the arrest of the Hindu leader last week.

The mission in Tripura, a state which borders Bangladesh, on Tuesday announced the suspension of visa and consular services “until further notice”. Md Al-Ameen, the first secretary there, cited “security reasons”.

In Bangladesh, there was heavy security around the Chattogram court ahead of the anticipated bail hearing. Some lawyers were seen holding a protest on the premises.

Das was not brought to the court, however.

A government prosecutor told reporters that the court of metropolitan sessions judge Mohammad Saiful Islam rescheduled the bail hearing after a plea from the prosecution side, “as no lawyer appeared as defence counsel”.

Swatantra Gauranga Das, an associate of the monk at his Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, claimed that no lawyer represented the monk due to threats from a “politically motivated lawyers' group”.

Kolkata spokesperson for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Radharamn Das has claimed that two lawyers were recently attacked by 'Islamists' in Chattogram, deterring others from taking up the monk’s case.

"It is really frustrating to see that there was no defence lawyer. Is this justice? Is this how you provide free and fair justice? We would urge the Bangladesh government to look into the matter," he said.

Das’ arrest on 25 November had triggered demonstrations by supporters of the monk, who was previously with ISKCON’s Bangladesh chapter before his recent removal for reasons unknown to the general public . An assistant government prosecutor, Saiful Islam Alif, was killed during a protest in Chattogram after the monk was denied bail last week.

In India, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, urging the Centre to call on the United Nations to dispatch peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh.

Outside the West Bengal assembly, Leader of the Opposition in the state Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP said human rights were violated in Bangladesh, also claiming that the monk’s lawyers did not appear in court as they were beaten up.

"At least 70 lawyers have been implicated in false cases, and I have news that they have been arrested,” the BJP leader told reporters, though he did not cite his sources.

“See this photograph... arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das' principal lawyer Ramen Roy was severely beaten up by fundamentalists of the Jamat. And the person Regan Acharya, who was supposed to appear on his behalf was also badly beaten up,” claimed Adhikari.

In the British House of Commons, Labour MP Barry Gardiner tabled an urgent question on Monday, 1 December, as well. Catherine West, the foreign office minister in charge of the Indo-Pacific, replied that the UK is monitoring developments.

“We are aware of the statement of concern from the Indian government following the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a well-known Hindu leader, on sedition charges. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) desk is closely monitoring those developments,” she said.

Das said he has urged ISKCON monks and followers in Bangladesh to avoid wearing saffron robes and tilak in public, advising them to practise their faith discreetly.

"The situation in Bangladesh is alarming. The monks and devotees who have been calling us, we have told them to hide their identity as ISKCON followers or monks publicly,” he told PTI.

He added that this wasn’t an actual advisory, but a “personal suggestion”.

Meanwhile, in Tripura, yesterday's news of a private hospital refusing to treat Bangladeshi nationals was followed up with today's hotel and restaurant owners' association declaring they too would refuse Bangladeshis.

Opinions on social media about their 'protest' were strong and divided, especially when it came to the doctors at the hospital.

Meanwhile, protests continued in several northeastern states, including Assam.

Thousands of people had gathered in Agartala under the banner of 'Sanatani Yuva' and staged a rally demanding the immediate release of Das. They also protested against the oppression of the Hindu minorities in Bangladeshi.

The protesters were, however, not allowed to move towards the Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP) on the international border as the police denied them permission to hold the ‘March to Bangladesh’ programme.

In Siliguri, posters of Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s chief adviser, surfaced on social media in West Bengal with derogatory words written next to his image.

The posters were reportedly spotted near the Siliguri Municipal Corporation building and other parts of the busy town in North Bengal. The images quickly went viral, though PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the social media posts.

A district official said an inquiry has been started to determine the origins of the posters. "We are looking into whether such posters with objectionable messages against another country have been displayed. If we find anything, the administration will take appropriate action to remove them," the official said.

In Guwahati, the Congress women's wing alleged that the "wrong" foreign policy of the Centre has made it "ineffective" in pursuing the authorities of Bangladesh in providing security to Hindus there. During the day, the Congress and several organisations held protests across Assam against atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, demanding the security of people belonging to the religious minority there.

Based on PTI inputs