Dhaka: More than sixty-three Iskcon monks, all Bangladeshis with valid travel documents, were stopped at Benapole land port in Bangladesh over the weekend and not allowed to enter India, as per several media reports.

Radharamn Das, spokesperson of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), told The Indian Express that they got news that “63 or even more brahmacharis” came to the Benapol border on the Bangladesh side on Saturday and Sunday. “They all had valid visas and wanted to enter India. However, Bangladesh authorities told them that India was not safe for them and didn’t allow them to enter India,” he added.

The Bangladesh government is yet to react on the fresh allegations levelled by Iskcon. Bangladesh mentioned earlier that the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das had been “misconstrued”, noting that his arrest was based on specific charges and that there has been no systematic attack on minorities in the country.

Das, a leader of the Sammilito Sanatani Jagaron Jot, was arrested on November 25 by the Bangladesh Police. He was denied bail by a court in Chittagong the next day and sent to jail in connection with a sedition case.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh recently claimed that India followed "double standards" on protection of minority communities and accused the neighbouring country's media of conducting an "industrial scale misinformation campaign" against Dhaka.

Bangladesh interim government's Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul in a Facebook post stated that India's unwarranted concern for Bangladesh continues. “In India, numerous incidents of brutality on minority Muslim community is going on. But they don’t have any remorse or embarrassment (over those incidents). This double standard of India is condemnable and objectionable,” Nazrul wrote.

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Bijnor (PTI): Two men were arrested in this Uttar Pradesh district on Friday for allegedly being in touch with a Pakistan-linked handler based in Dubai, police said.

Circle Officer, Najibabad, Anjani Kumar Chaturvedi said Uvaid Malik and Jalal Haider were arrested following inputs on their alleged links with Aqib, a resident of Meerut currently staying in Dubai.

According to police, Aqib had earlier come into the spotlight after a video surfaced on Instagram purportedly showing him displaying an AK-47 rifle and explosives.

During interrogation, the arrested men allegedly told police that Aqib used to incite youngsters against Hindus and encourage anti-national activities, the officer said, adding that detailed questioning of the accused is underway.

On April 6, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Jha said the video first surfaced in November last year. Aqib, a native of Sathla village in the Mawana area of Meerut, was allegedly seen in the video brandishing weapons.

Following the viral clip, a case was registered at the Nangal police station by sub-inspector Vinod Kumar. However, the then station house officer and investigating officer Satyendra Singh had recorded Aqib's statement and filed a final report, stating that the weapons seen in the video were toys, effectively giving him a clean chit.

Police said fresh developments have now revealed Aqib's suspicious links and the probe has been handed over to the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).

The SP said action has been taken against the officials concerned, with the then SHO and investigating officer suspended and Circle Officer Nitesh Pratap Singh removed from his post.