6 held over calls to free Chinmoy at Janmashtami rally in Chattogram

Police say the detainees, who allegedly displayed placards and shouted slogans demanding the preacher's release, are being questioned

Police have detained six people for allegedly carrying placards and shouting slogans demanding the release of Hindu preacher Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari during a Janmashtami procession.

The rally, which began at Andarkilla and wound through key city roads before ending at JM Sen Hall on Saturday, was closely monitored by police.

Kotwali Police Station chief Abdul Karim said the detainees were being questioned.

Organisers of the Janmashtami celebrations said they were unaware of any arrests, but were looking into the matter. Some participants said that a group of men shouted slogans calling for Chinmoy’s release.

Chinmoy, a spokesman of the Sanatani Jagaran Jote, was arrested last year in a sedition case. He has since been implicated in several cases, including the murder of a lawyer during violent clashes outside a Chattogram court in November last year, and remains in jail.