A court in Bangladesh ordered the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in four additional cases on Tuesday. This comes just a day after he was also ordered to be arrested in connection with a murder case. The order was issued by Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate SM Alauddin Mahmud following a virtual hearing, as reported by the state-run BSS news agency.

On November 25 last year, Das, a former ISKCON leader, was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in a sedition case for allegedly insulting the national flag. The next day, a court in Chattogram denied his bail request and sent him to jail. His arrest led to widespread protests, with his followers holding demonstrations in Dhaka and other cities. On Tuesday, the court took action in four cases, which included blocking police work at the Kotwali police station and attacking lawyers and people seeking justice, according to Assistant Public Prosecutor Md Raihanul Wazed Chowdhury.

"The court granted the plea to show him (Das) arrested after the hearing," news portal bdnews24 quoted Chowdhury as saying. The article cited an official who stated that Das was virtually brought before the court for the hearing due to his "security and overall situation." Security was tightened around the Chattogram court on Tuesday morning ahead of a virtual court hearing, according to BSS. Extra security was also in place outside Chattogram jail. The day before, the court issued an arrest warrant for Das in connection with the killing of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif. Alif was hacked to death during a violent protest following Das’ earlier arrest. On April 30, the High Court granted Das bail. However, that decision was put on hold after it was challenged and taken to the chamber judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Rezaul Haque.

Earlier, the lawyers representing the Hindu community leader were unable to get him bail because the lower court in Chattogram rejected their requests. "The allegation of disrespecting the national flag is baseless, as it was not a national flag," top defence counsel Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya earlier said.