Bangladesh: Court grants bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Das in one case

Dhaka (TIP): A Bangladesh court has granted bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in one case, while he remains in custody. The order was issued on Thursday by Judicial Magistrate Shakhawat Hossain in Chattogram after a hearing. However, he is still facing six other cases, including one related to the murder of a lawyer.
“The case in which he was granted bail was filed by former minister Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, father of State Minister for Hill Tracts and Land Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin. The case involved allegations of land grabbing, intimidation, and assault in the Mekhal area of Hathazari in Chattogram”, Chinmoy’s lawyer Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee told ANI, over the phone.
“Six people, including Chinmoy Krishna Das, were accused in the case filed in 2023”, he added.
On November 26, 2024, during clashes surrounding his bail in a sedition case over alleged desecration of the national flag, lawyer Saiful Islam was beaten and hacked to death. Following the incident, his father, Jamal Uddin, filed a murder case naming 31 accused.
Afghan villagers turn to gold-panning to sustain livelihoods
Kabul (TIP): In the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of eastern Afghanistan, hundreds of men scour the rocky Kunar riverbed for precious gold dust, creating a livelihood amid limited economic options.
Against the backdrop of towering peaks, some still snow-capped in April, workers labour near the Pakistan border, seeking valuable flecks that could change their fortunes in a country plagued by low wages.
Near Kharwalu village in Kunar province – with its mud-brick homes and terraced wheat fields – men excavate dry sections of the riverbed before washing their rocky hauls with river water.
Delawar, 45, joined these gold prospectors after leaving his construction job seven hours from his Kabul home.
“There are not many job opportunities in the country, and in this way, we have created work for ourselves,” said the father of eight who uses only one name.
“The gold nuggets we find are usually smaller than a grain of wheat,” he added. In nearby Ghaziabad, hundreds chip away at the mountainside with picks, carrying heavy sacks down steep slopes to empty onto sieves for gold filtration.