Chinmoy Krishna Das's associate at Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote Swatantra Gauranga Das alleged that no lawyer represented the Hindu leader owing to threats from a "politically motivated lawyers' group".
"We came to participate in a religious ceremony in India, but immigration officials stopped us, citing the absence of government permission," ISKCON member Saurabh Tapandar Cheli said.
Several Islamic political parties came together to demand to ban ISKCON, calling it an "extremist organization" and blaming it for the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam.
“It is with utter dismay and deep sense of hurt that the Government of Bangladesh notes that the arrest of Sri Chinmoy Krishna Das has been misconstrued by certain quarters since Sri Chinmoy Krishna Das has been arrested on specific charges", the statement reads.
Chinmoy Krishna Das who was arrested on Monday was on Tuesday produced before a Chittagong court that reused to entertain his bail plea and sent him to custody.
The arrest comes in the wake of protests by the Hindu community in Rangpur, approximately 300 kilometres north of Dhaka, calling for stronger legal safeguards and the establishment of a dedicated ministry for minority affairs.