Media missteps intensify tensions over Bangladesh priest’s arrest

The arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh has triggered a storm of misinformation, intensifying communal tensions between the country’s Muslim majority and Hindu minority.

The situation further escalated when a Muslim lawyer was killed during clashes between Das’s supporters and the police, with authorities attributing the killing to the priest’s followers.

Misinformation about the incident has been rampant, both in local Bangladeshi media and among certain Indian outlets, where sensationalised coverage of Bangladesh is not unusual. However, what makes this episode particularly troubling is the role of reputed international media organisations, including Reuters and BBC Bengali, whose reporting missteps appeared to have added fuel to the fire.

Das rose to prominence with his vocal criticisms of the alleged persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government.

Reuters’ unexplained correction 

Reuters initially reported that a slain Muslim lawyer was representing Chinmoy Kumar Das, attributing the information to a police official named Liaquat Ali.

This claim mirrored narratives circulating on social media among Hindu nationalist groups in India, which suggested the lawyer was targeted for defending the priest.

However, the claim was factually incorrect. 

On the contrary, the lawyer, just a day prior to his death, had shared a video on his Facebook account portraying Das as a seditious figure, in line with the government’s charges against him. 

Reuters later made substantial corrections to its story: References to the lawyer being the representative of Das were removed, as was the name of the police officer. 

Additionally, the byline was changed, omitting the original author, Ruma Paul.

The updated version included a note saying, “This story has been corrected to delete quote from police officer saying that the lawyer who was killed was 'defending Das,' in paragraph 4.” 

However, the note did not explain why the changes had been made. 

Further edits were made later, with a revised note reading, “This story has been refiled to remove a video.” No explanation was provided for the subsequent edits, either.

This lack of transparency fueled criticism.

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said an internal investigation suggested no Chattogram-based police official named Liaquat Ali had spoken to Reuters about the story.

He suggested that while there are five officers with that name in the region, only one held positions that would typically interact with media, and all denied providing information to Reuters. 

Chattogram police issued a formal statement confirming that no Reuters journalist had contacted them.

Ruma Paul, Reuters’ only news correspondent in Bangladesh, has since faced intense scrutiny on social media. Subsequent Reuters articles on Bangladesh have carried the generic byline “Reuters.”

Netra News has reached out to Reuters for comments but has not received a response.

BBC Bengali fell for a likely unauthentic X account

Meanwhile, BBC Bengali, the Bengali-language service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, inaccurately reported that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)—the organisation with which Chinmoy Kumar Das was affiliated—had called on the Indian government to intervene on his behalf.

This erroneous claim originated from a post by a verified X (formerly Twitter) account named “Iskcon,Inc” and was subsequently echoed by hundreds of Bangladeshi news outlets.

In a country surrounded almost entirely by India, such claims can touch a nerve. 

Diplomatic relations between the two nations have been fraught since August 5th, when the India-aligned government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown, forcing her into exile in India. 

However, a Netra News review revealed that the “Iskcon,Inc” account is unaffiliated with ISKCON’s international body, to which ISKCON’s Bangladesh chapter is connected. Chinmoy Kumar Das himself was a member of ISKCON Bangladesh, not “Iskcon,Inc.”

The official website of ISKCON, iskcon.org, links to the now-deactivated X handle @IskconGlobal. Another account, @Iskcon, claims to be ISKCON’s official presence on the platform and has issued statements consistent with the organisation’s positions. By contrast, “Iskcon,Inc” does not claim official status and predominantly shares apparent AI-generated images featuring the logo of an organisation called the Krishna Consciousness Society (KCS), based in Rajasthan, India.

When questioned about the verification process, a BBC Bengali reporter admitted to relying on a previous breaking news item rather than independently verifying the “Iskcon,Inc” account. 

Chinmoy Das and ISKCON’s Official Position

Adding to the confusion, ISKCON Bangladesh clarified that Chinmoy Das had been suspended from the organisation last year over allegations of child sexual abuse and was permanently removed in July 2023, prior to his recent prominence. 

While ISKCON condemned any seditious activities, it defended Das’s right to peacefully advocate for the protection of Hindus and their places of worship.

Notably, ISKCON’s international branch has not requested assistance or intervention from the Indian government regarding Das’s arrest, contradicting the claims disseminated by the “Iskcon,Inc” account and reported by BBC Bengali.

Background on “Iskcon,Inc”

Further investigation into the “Iskcon,Inc” account uncovered its ties to the Krishna Consciousness Society (KCS) and its president, HG Gauranga Sundar Das. Established in Jaipur, India, in 2021, KCS operates independently of ISKCON’s international organisation. Gauranga Sundar Das’s X profile frequently shares posts from the “Iskcon,Inc” account, including calls for Indian government intervention in Chinmoy Kumar Das’s case.

Nikhil Gupta, also known as Nimai Pandit Das, runs Madhav Store, an entity providing counseling services. 

According to the “About Us” section of its website, Madhav Store is owned and operated by the Krishna Consciousness Society (KCS). The store provides religious materials, including books, and offers counseling services. Another article on the Madhav Store website states that it is affiliated with Iskcon, Inc. This indicates a network connecting Iskcon, Inc., Madhav Store, KCS, and HG Gauranga Sundar Das.

Legal records, including those from the Kelley v. Gupta case, reveal a long-standing dispute between “Iskcon,Inc,” registered under Nikhil Gupta, and ISKCON’s global body over property rights in Long Island, New York. This conflict highlights that “Iskcon,Inc” and ISKCON’s international organisation are distinct and opposing entities.●