Bangladesh stops 63 Iskcon monks from crossing over to India

Bangladesh's immigration police on Sunday turned back 54 members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) who were attempting to cross into India from the Benapole border checkpoint. Despite possessing valid travel documents, the devotees were denied entry, citing "suspicious travel" by the authorities.

The ISKCON devotees claimed they wanted to attend a religious event in India.

According to local media reports, the group of Hindu devotees from various parts of Bangladesh had arrived at the land port on Saturday, intending to travel to India for religious rituals. However, they were made to wait at the checkpoint since Saturday night before being turned back on Sunday.

"We were going to participate in a religious ceremony in India, but immigration officials stopped us, citing the absence of government permission," Saurabh Tapandar Cheli, one of the ISKCON members told The Daily Star.