A local BNP leader has been expelled following filing a case against ISKCON Chittagong Division’s Organizational Secretary, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, and 19 others without informing party leadership.
The expelled BNP leader is Firoz Khan, general secretary of BNP's ward no 5 Mohora unit.
Firoz’s expulsion was confirmed in a letter issued on Friday by Mohammad Azam, president of Chandgaon Thana BNP, and Acting General Secretary Gias Uddin Bhuiyan.
The letter cited Firoz’s involvement in activities contrary to the party’s principles as the reason for his dismissal.
The case, filed Thursday night at Kotwali police station, accuses Chinmoy Krishna Das and others of desecrating the national flag by raising ISKCON’s saffron flag on the Independence Monument at the New Market intersection in Chittagong.
The case names 19 individuals and includes 15-20 unnamed defendants. Two individuals have already been arrested.
The accused include Ajay Dutta, 34, coordinator of Hindu Jagaran Mancha, Leela Raj Das Brahmachari, 48, chief priest of ISKCON Chittagong Temple, along with several others: Gopal Das Tipu, 38, Dr. Kathak Das, 40, Engineer Amit Dhar, 38, Roni Das, 38, Rajib Das, 32, Krishna Kumar Dutta, 52, Ziku Chowdhury, 40, Newton De Bobby, 38, Tushar Chakraborty Rajib. 28, Mithun De, 35, Rupan Dhar, 35, Rimon Dutta, 28, Sukanta Das, 28, Bishwajit Gupta, 42, Rajesh Chowdhury, 28, and Hridoy Das, 25.
Following the incident, Hindu Jagaran Mancha leaders have staged protests demanding the withdrawal of the case and issued an ultimatum, calling for its dismissal by Monday.