Heartbreaking visuals emerged from Bangladesh as jailed Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das came out on parole to perform the last rites of his mother, who passed away on Thursday (September 10, 2026). Das was granted a five-hour parole by Chattogram District Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia on the application of his family to attend his mother’s funeral.
However, his mother’s last wish to see him for one last time before passing away remained unfulfilled as Das was not allowed to see her. Chinmoy Das’s mother, Sandhya Rani Dhar (70), had been receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Hathazari for a couple of months for cancer and other ailments.
She wanted to spend her final days at the ashram where her son had stayed, so she was taken to Pundarik Dham in Mekhal union of Hathazari upazila in Chattogram. She passed away there at around 9:30 am on Thursday. Before passing away, she had expressed the wish to see her son, but Das was not allowed to see his dying mother.
Das’s brother filed an application the same day with the district administration seeking his release to attend their mother’s funeral. The application was approved around 2:30 pm on Thursday.
Chinmoy Das was devastated and inconsolable as he saw her deceased mother. The monk looked shattered with grief over losing his mother and the sense of helplessness at not being able to meet her for the last time. He was taken back to the jail around 8:30 pm after attending his mother’s funeral.
Das is the youngest among three brothers and one sister. His birth name is Chandan Kumar Dhar. He adopted the name Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari after taking religious vows.
Das punished for speaking up for Hindu rights
Chinmoy Krishna Das, head of Sanatan Jagaran Manch and the chief of Pundarik Dham in Chittagong, was arrested on November 25, 2024. Before his arrest, Das had been vocal for Hindu rights in the Islamic nation of Bangladesh and had been actively working to unite persecuted minorities in the country.
He was arrested at the airport under the Mohammad Yunus regime that took over in Bangladesh after the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024, following a violent uprising in the country. His arrest came after a protest rally organised by the Hindu community in Rangpur, calling for stronger legal safeguards and the establishment of a dedicated ministry for minority affairs.
Charges including sedition, attempted murder, murder, and vandalism were imposed on him. 19 other individuals were also charged with sedition for participating in a minority rights rally in Chittagong. He has been languishing in jail for about two years without bail since his arrest in November 2024. He was granted bail by the High Court in four out of six criminal cases filed against him.
