The port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh erupted in protests on Tuesday evening amid reports of attacks on Hindus by Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam cadres following the arrest of religious leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari.

The developments in Bangladesh created ripples in India, with New Delhi issuing a strong statement and the BJP’s Bengal unit announcing protests.

Das, a leader of a fledgling Hindu group called Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote, has been holding huge rallies across Bangladesh since September to champion the rights of Hindu minorities in the Muslim-dominated country.

The monk, who has connections with Iskcon, was arrested in Dhaka before he was to board a flight to Chittagong on Monday afternoon.

“Over 10,000 Hindus had gathered at the CMM court, where our client was produced today.... They were already agitated with his arrest and their patience ran out after the monk was denied bail. Soon, a clash broke out,” a member of the legal team representing Das told this newspaper.

According to accounts shared by multiple eyewitnesses, the court premises became a battlefield after the police tried to remove Das’s supporters who had surrounded the van that was to take him to the prison.

“A clash broke out between the police and our supporters as stones were hurled.... The police fired tear-gas shells, burst sound grenades and beat our supporters with batons. Jamaat and Hefazat supporters also joined the cops in assaulting our supporters,” the source said from Chittagong city.

Saiful Islam Alif, a lawyer belonging to the Jamaat camp, died during the clashes on the court premises, triggering an all-out attack on Hindu localities from late afternoon, another source said.

“We are under attack and don’t know what will happen in the night as the police in our country have stopped taking action against the Islamists,” said a source close to Das.

A prominent Hindu leader in Bangladesh urged the Indian authorities to take up the matter with the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government amid reports that the attacks on minorities would not be limited to Chittagong city and its outskirts — home to over 25 lakh Hindus — and might spread to other minority-dominated areas such as Rangpur and Dhaka.

“The atrocities on minorities have been continuing since the time of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It peaked during the rule of the army dictators who ran the country till 1991 and the BNP-Jamaat regime (1991-96 and 2001-06),” said the veteran Hindu leader.

“The Hindus overwhelmingly supported Hasina’s Awami League, but even her party leaders oppressed us,” the source added. The scale of the attacks and the fear in the minds of the Hindus and other minorities, however, have intensified since Hasina fled the country, he said, ruing the breakdown of law and order and the strengthening of the Islamist forces.

Against this backdrop, the rise of Das as a minority community leader has been phenomenal as he floated Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote, which replaced the Hindu-Christian-Buddhist Unity Forum as the lone voice of the minorities. While most of the forum’s leaders went into hiding after Hasina’s fall, Das kept on holding rallies of Hindu minorities despite being slapped with sedition charges.

“His rallies drew tens of thousands of people.... He encouraged the Hindus to put up a fight instead of running away to India. He reminded the Hindus that the country also belongs to them,” said a source who has known Das for 15 years.

“Das is revered by a section of Muslims as well because of his work and eloquence.... The success of his meetings and his fearless attitude probably rattled the regime and that’s why he was arrested,” the source added.

The arrest, according to a Bangladesh observer, was a knee-jerk reaction that would further complicate things for Yunus at a time the world has begun taking note of the rise of hardcore Islamists in the country.

Till now, India’s response has been restricted to a statement.

“We have noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote. This incident follows the multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities.... 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,” the statement read.

Responding to India’s statement on “a matter concerning internal affairs of Bangladesh”, the foreign affairs ministry of the neighbouring country issued a media release.

“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.”

It added that the government maintains that such “unfounded statements not only misrepresent facts but also stand contrary to the spirit of friendship and understanding between the two neighbouring countries”.

The BJP leadership in Bengal, which shares a 2,200km-plus border with Bangladesh, announced a slew of programmes, including laying siege to the Bangladesh deputy High Commission in Calcutta, to condemn Das’s arrest and the “spate of attacks” on Hindu minorities.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari led a protest at the Assembly.