DHAKA: Bangladesh's immigration police on Sunday turned back 54 members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) who possessed valid travel documents and wanted to cross into India from the Benapole border checkpoint.
Local media reported that the Bangladesh police did not allow them to proceed, citing "suspicious travel". Some even claimed that the total number of Hindus arriving at the border crossing was over 70.
It was reported that the Hindu devotees from various parts of Bangladesh had arrived at the land port along the international border on Saturday, wanting to leave the country through the Benapole-Petrapole crossing.
"We consulted the Special Branch of Police and received instructions from the higher authorities not to permit them, " Benapole Immigration Checkpost Officer-in-Charge (OC) Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiya was quoted as saying by the Bangladesh's Daily Star.
Bhuiya reportedly mentioned that the Bangladeshi authorities did not allow 54 Iskcon devotees to travel to India due to "suspicions regarding their travel purposes".
However, several members of the group - who were made to wait at the checkpoint since Saturday night - stated that they were travelling to India for religious rituals with valid passports and visas but were still turned back on Sunday with the authorities not giving any clear reason for their action.
"We were going to participate in a religious ceremony in India, but immigration officials stopped us, citing the absence of government permission, " Saurabh Tapandar Cheli, one of the Iskcon members, told local media outlets.
The Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Petrapole on the Indian side was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in July 2016.
The minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, have come under a severe attack by Islamist elements in Bangladesh after the formation of the interim government in the country headed by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Earlier this week, after the arrest and denial of bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das - a spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote who is also associated with Iskcon Bangladesh - India had spotlighted that there are several documented cases of arson and looting of minorities' homes and business establishments, as well as theft and vandalism and desecration of deities and temples, reported from Bangladesh.
"It is unfortunate that while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings. We also note with concern the attacks on minorities protesting peacefully against the arrest of Shri Das. We urge Bangladesh authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, " read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Even as New Delhi remains concerned with the increasing extremist rhetoric and incidents of violence in Bangladesh, several radicals, including Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam - who led the so-called 'Anti-Discrimination Student Movement' that eventually resulted in the fall of government headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August - continue to orchestrate a disinformation campaign against Hindus and spiritual organisation Iskcon, calling it as an "agent of the Awami League" that should be banned in the country immediately.
After sending Chinmoy Krishna Das to jail, Bangladesh's Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) had ordered the freezing of his bank account and also of 16 more Hindus who are associated with Iskcon in Bangladesh.
On Thursday, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had strongly condemned the "tortures" inflicted on common people by the interim government in Bangladesh and called for "immediate release" of the Hindu priest.
"A top leader of the Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested, he must be released immediately, " said Hasina.
The Bangladesh Awami League (AL) president and daughter of the 'Father of the Nation' Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also spotlighted several incidents of persecution of members of minority communities that have been reported from across 52 districts in Bangladesh since her resignation on August 5, this year.
"A temple has been burnt in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, shrines, churches, monasteries and houses of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked, vandalized and looted and set on fire. Religious freedom and security of life and property of people of all communities should be ensured, " she stated.
"After the killing of innumerable Awami League leaders and workers, students and members of the law and order forces, harassment is going on through assaults and arrests. I strongly condemn and protest against these anarchist activities, " Hasina added.