Bangladesh freezes bank accounts linked to ISKCON

A protest rally in Dhaka demanding a ban on ISKCON. Pic/AFP

Bangladesh's authorities have ordered freezing for 30 days the bank accounts of 17 people associated with ISKCON, including its former member Chinmoy Krishna Das arrested this week on sedition charges, media reports said on Friday.

The move comes after the Bangladesh High Court rejected a petition seeking a ban on International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), following the killing of a lawyer in a clash between the Hindu leader's supporters and security personnel.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) sent these directives to different banks and financial institutions on Thursday, suspending all types of transactions related to these accounts for a month, newspaper Prothom Alo said. The agency also asked the banks and financial institutions to send information, including updated transaction statements of accounts related all businesses owned by these 17 individuals, within the next three working days.

On October 30, a sedition case was filed against 19 people, including Das, accusing them of disrespecting Bangladesh's national flag in Chattogram's New Market area during a rally of the Hindu community. Das was arrested from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday.

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