Sedition Case against 18 Hindus in Bangladesh for hoisting saffron flags

Eighteen Hindus have been charged with sedition over the hoisting of a saffron flag, exposing the selective targeting of minorities in Bangladesh about which even former US President Donald Trump has spoken about. Two people have been arrested. The case seems to be one of retribution, coming at a time Hindu organisations held a large gathering in Chattogram seeking a law and tribunal for the protection of minorities.

A sedition case, experts from Bangladesh said, wouldn't have been lodged without approval from officials of the home ministry of Bangladesh. They said that the officer in charge of a police station wouldn't have gone ahead on his own in such cases. Other than the 18 Hindus who have been charged with sedition, the complaint mentions 15-20 unidentified people, leaving scope for adding names in the case at a later date.

The incident over which the sedition case has been filed is from October 25, when Hindu organisations held a massive rally in Chattogram to press for their eight-point demand. The eight-point demand includes forming a tribunal to prosecute those who oppress minorities, bringing a law on minority protection, and establishing a ministry for minorities.

"A section of people in Bangladesh have tried to project the eight-point demand as one backed by the Awami League and the Indian government," Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, one of those charged with sedition and President of Pundarik Dham, tells India Today Digital.

The sedition case was filed by Firoz Khan at Chattogram's Kotwali Police Station on October 30. According to Bangladesh's Penal Code of 1860, sedition can lead to imprisonment for up to life. In a video of the incident, which has gone viral now, a group of people with saffron headbands can be seen putting up saffron flags near a flag that was projected as Bangladesh's national flag at Zero Point in the New Market area of Chattogram.

Chattogram's Pundarik Dham is one of the two holiest pilgrimage places for Hindus in Bangladesh.

The sedition case comes even as Donald Trump criticised the silence even as Hindus faced attacks in Bangladesh. Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too have been highlighting the need to safeguard the interests of Hindus, by the Bangladeshi establishment.