KOLKATA: Sixty-three Iskcon monks, all Bangladeshis with valid travel documents, were prevented from crossing over to India on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, several Bangladeshi media outlets and Iskcon Kolkata reported on Sunday.
These 63 people were stopped at the Benapole land port, the Bangladesh side of the international border, by Bangladeshi authorities for “suspicious activities“, the reports claimed.
Till late Sunday, there was no response from a senior official of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata to TOI’s calls and texts.
The reported move coincided with Kolkata Iskcon devotees joining in a global protest against the reported persecution in Bangladesh.
According to news reports from the neighbouring country, the 63 monks, from various districts in Bangladesh, arrived at the Benapole border on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, wanting to cross over to India, only to be stopped by immigration police, over “suspicious travel”.
The reports also quoted Saurabh Tapander Cheli, an Iskcon member, expressing his frustration, saying: “I came to attend a religious ceremony in India. But immigration authorities sent me back without giving any explanation.” Another devotee echoed the sentiment, saying they intended to perform religious rituals but were turned away by immigration officials, who refused to give a clear reason.
‘Why were monks with valid docus stopped from int’l travel?’
The Bangladesh media reports also quoted Benapole Immigration check-post OC Imtiaz Md Ahsanul Quader Bhuiya, as saying: “We did not allow 54 Bangladeshi passengers to travel to India due to suspicions regarding travel purposes.” The figure Bhuiya was quoted as saying – 54 – refers to Iskcon monks who tried to cross over on Sunday; the reports did not mention the 9, who were reportedly stopped on Saturday.
No further details were provided on the nature of the suspicions, or whether the individuals would be allowed to attempt to travel again.
Radharamn Das, vice-president of Iskcon Kolkata, said the monks belonged to different units of Iskcon Bangladesh. “Considering the current situation in Bangladesh, they chose this period for a pilgrimage in India. But 9 were stopped on Saturday and another 54 on Sunday by BGB. They were told it was unsafe for them to travel to India at this point and asked to go back. I just wonder, on what grounds could they be disallowed from heading to another country despite having valid visas and other documents?”
Bangladesh police on Friday arrested two more monks – Ranganath Shyamsunder Das and Rudrapati Keshav Das, charging them with sedition after they delivered medicines to Chinmoy in prison, Iskcon said on Saturday. On Sunday, Radharamn posted their photos in saffron attire and performing arati with a photo caption and hashtag #FreeISKCONMonks: “Does he look like a terrorist? The arrest of innocent Iskcon brahmacharis is deeply shocking and disturbing.”
On Sunday, millions of devotees across 150-odd Iskcon centres across the world joined in a prayer-and-protest demanding release of the monks. Iskcon Kolkata said the first prayer started at their temple in Tokyo, followed by Vladivostok and continued through the day at other centres across the globe. “We have appealed to the world and the UN with no effect. Now, we can only pray before the Lord,” said Radharamn.