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       CHITTAGONG: A Bangladeshi court on Thursday again denied bail to an outspoken Hindu monk advocating for the protection of the minority after religious strife in the mainly Muslim nation.

       Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested in November for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally and faces charges of sedition.

       Security forces ringed the court in the southern port city of Chittagong, wary after violence erupted following a previous bail hearing — with the monk’s followers accused of killing a public prosecutor.

       Das rejects the sedition charges, his lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee said on Thursday. But public prosecutor Raihanul Wajed Chowdhury said they had opposed bail because there was “much more to investigate”. The prosecution and defence both said the court had denied the bail application.

       The family of the lawyer murdered in November, Saiful Islam Alif, has filed two separate cases against those they say are linked to his death. That includes 58 Hindu lawyers accused of vandalism and carrying explosives. Religious relations have been turbulent in Bangladesh since a student-led revolution toppled autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.

       New Delhi’s Hindu-nationalist government were key supporters of Hasina, and the 77-year-old has been in exile in India since she fled protesters as they stormed the prime minister’s palace on Aug 5.

       Bangladesh in December requested India send Hasina back to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity”. India confirmed it had received the request but declined to comment further.

       Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025