ISKCON DEVOTEES HARASSED AND ARRESTED...!

[Guest guest]

Dear devotees,

 

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

You might have read in newspapers or on web sites some news about ISKCON

devotees getting beaten up and arrested by Calcutta Police. Here is what I

personally saw, heard and experienced. The devotees of Mayapur were dealt

with by the police like criminals. And what was the reason? They were

chanting inside the ISKCON's 3C Albert Road branch where Adridharan das who

was formerly the TP and who has been suspended from the post of TP by ISKCON

Bureau, doesn't want any non-IRM followers to enter.

 

Almost all people, including lawyers and general public are wondering on

what basis the police could do such a thing. Some other people are confident

that money has played a major role in this arrest, while police authorities

have no proper answers to our questions on why we were arrested. In fact,

some police officers privately begged forgiveness from devotees for dealing

with them so rudely. They also mentioned that they are aware of the fact

that Adridharan das is illegally staying in the temple and conTrolling it

but they had to act following their superior's order. Many local newspapers

have condemned this act of police and reported about the suspension of

Adridharan das.

 

Some newspapers mistakenly reported that the ongoing dispute is between

Calcutta branch and Mayapur branch. This is wrong. The real dispute is

between Adridharan das and the highest legal authority of ISKCON India, i.e.

ISKCON Bureau. The devotees who were inside the temple then are just those

who want to see that law and order is maintained within ISKCON and

president/s like Adridharan das is/are not allowed to act independent of

ISKCON authority at the cost of ISKCON property and fund which is meant for

serving the Supreme Lord Krishna as per Srila Prabhupada's instructions.

 

On 2nd March 2001, ISKCON Bureau suspended Adridharan das who was acting as

the Temple president of ISKCON Calcutta's 3C Albert road branch for several

years. This action had become inevitable as Adridharan das, ignoring

repeated warnings from various ISKCON authorities continued to perform many

unauthorized activities inside and outside the temple. At the time of

suspending Adridharan das, ISKCON Bureau empowered its Chairman to appoint a

committee to manage all affairs of this branch by taking up the

responsibilities of the temple president; the Chairman also intimated

Adridharan das of the same.

 

In the past, Adridharan das first continued to ignore ISKCON directives

under various lame excuses and when he had no more excuses left, openly

rejected the Bureau as his authority and filed court cases against ISKCON

Bureau. Adridharan das unauthorizedly continued to represent ISKCON as the

temple president before various media including newspapers and other ways.

 

However, to implement the order of the ISKCON Bureau, on 27th April

afternoon when some members of the above committee, along with a few other

devotees, went to 3C, Albert Road temple for taking charge of the temple,

Adridharan das attacked them with the help of gundas (anti-social elements)

who are hired by Adridharan das to do jobs that he legally cannot

accomplish. When I requested Adridharan das that he should not stop me from

entering the temple as the ISKCON Bureau had suspended him, he said there

was no such authority as Bureau and that he was the authority because he was

in physical possession of the temple. He personally, physically pushed me

and other devotees and ordered his IRM assistants to push us out. While

ISKCON devotees were thus being pushed and beaten by those gundas, and were

trying to defend themselves, Adridharan das called local police station and

accused ISKCON devotees of attacking the Temple!

 

When the police arrived, HG Sachinandana Prabhu, who is one of the elderly

committee members for managing the Albert road temple showed important legal

documents to the police who seemed to have understood the actual position of

Adridharan das. The situation was quite normal. But all of a sudden more

police came in and started beating up devotees! Knowing that Adridharan das

will use any amount of money to keep ISKCON devotees from staying in the

temple, we also expected that he would make false charges and so, for our

legal protection I was advised to carry a video camera and had recorded the

events as and when I got the opportunity. This included Adridharan das

physically pushing devotees, guiding his men what to do, etc. One police

officer tried to snatch my video camera but I humbly refused to give it. At

that time Adridharan das told the officer to arrest me and so I was

arrested, for peacefully recording the event!

 

When HH Bhakti Purushottam Swami, who is one of the Bureau members as well

as a committee member, and HG Jagadartiha prabhu, who is also a managing

committee member, tried to explain the situation the police advised them to

go to police station saying they would discuss the matter there. But when

they went there at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station with the police they

were also arrested! In total, four of us and three of Adridharan das' gundas

were arrested on the first day. While in police custody one police officer

took away the video cassette I had recorded. Then they put all of us in

jail. They also took away our chanting beads although we continued chanting

in the jail.

 

After some time our lawyer arrived and immediately after that HG Dayaram

prabhu and Vidvan Gauranga prabhu came and started to deal with the matter.

Later on some more devotees came to our help. HG Caitanya Das Prabhu also

came with another lawyer. Some congregation members also arrived. Finally,

by the mercy of Lord Krishna we all were released on bail.

 

The Officer In Charge at Shakespeare Sarani police station ordered that no

one would be allowed to enter the temple. Some police were appointed at the

main gate to ensure this. Those devotees who were not inside the temple had

to spend the whole night outside the temple.

 

The Officer In Charge invited Dayaram das and Adridharan das for a meeting

with him on 28th April. When Dayaram das went to meet the Officer as

directed by him, Calcutta temple's suspended president Adridharan das was

not there. This happened on the 28th of April.

 

Surprisingly, just around that time, a group of police surrounded the ISKCON

devotees who were waiting outside the temple from previous night for getting

police permission to enter the temple. The police, without giving any reason

and hearing anything from ISKCON devotees, dragged them into a police van

and sent them off to police station. Then a bigger police van came and they

tried to enter the main gate which was kept locked from inside. Not being

able to open the door, the police got another reason to charge devotees and

jumped in from another gate. Nothing unusual was happening in the temple at

this moment except kirtans by the devotees who were practically without food

from previous night. THE POLICE BROKE OPEN THE MAIN SACRED ENTRANCE OF THE

TEMPLE, ENTERED INSIDE THE KIRTAN HALL IN FRONT OF SRI SRI RADHA GOVINDA

WITH THEIR SHOES AND WEAPONS. When the police entered, the devotees were

chanting Nrisimha prayers. The police then started to beat up the devotees

with sticks, pushed them into their van and forcefully took them to the

Central lockup at Lal Bazar police station. In the meanwhile, the devotees

were continuing with the kirtans, even after they were detained in the

lockup.

 

Adridharan das came with the police to identify ISKCON (non-IRM) devotees

and asked the police to arrest the devotees. Sridam pr, Kripalu Kesava pr,

Nitai Prasad pr, Parjanya pr, Panchatattva pr and others protested, and

asked the police on what grounds they were being arrested to which the

police replied by beating them up more. In total, 67 devotees, including

Bhadracharu pr, Nitai Prasad pr, Sridam pr, Akhilatma priya pr, Vedasara pr,

Padmanetra pr, and some congregation members/devotees were arrested.

 

Incidentally, that day morning only HH Jayapataka Maharaja had arrived from

his short preaching tour. We informed him of the situation and brought him

to Calcutta instead of going straight to Mayapur. We thought he can visit

devotees who were stuck inside the temple. He also wanted to see devotees

and advise them to maintain peace in this difficult situation. But later on

when we came to know that Adridharan das was desperate to have all ISKCON

devotees arrested and the police had started arresting devotees

indiscriminately, we requested Maharaj to not go to the temple as it would

give Adridharan das one more opportunity to link ISKCON gurus with the whole

event.

 

The whole day was very tense. Dayaram prabhu, HH Bhaktipurushottam Swami,

Jagadartiha prabhu, Caitanya das prabhu, Sudipto prabhu, our lawyers, and

many others worked hard to take care of the situation and get the devotees

released. After about twelve hours in the Central Lockup, at around

midnight, by the mercy of Lord Krishna all devotees were released on bail.

Later on we were informed that Adridharan das was planning to get us

arrested under rape charge and illegal arm cases which are non bailable!

Certainly by Lord Krishna's arrangement he couldn't do it. We also learnt

from Albert Road devotees that later on Adridharan lamented that he could

not implicate "JP [Jayapataka Swami] and Bhakti Charu [swami]" in his

complaints to the police.

 

We are confident that Lord Krishna is always in control. Whatever may happen

to us is either due to our bad or good karma or by the supreme will of the

all merciful Lord who has His own ways of handling the situation and

bringing His devotees closer to Him. We are thankful to all those who are

supporting the truth. We are requesting the international community of

devotees and well wishers of ISKCON to take this event seriously. Please try

to see that we don't create more Adridharan das's in ISKCON or on the earth.

We do not want to offend devotees but we must present the truth and we must

be faithful towards Srila Prabhupada and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

WHATEVER ADRIDHARAN OR ANYONE ELSE SAYS ABOUT THIS, our statements are true

because the events were witnessed by SRILA PRABHUPADA and SRI SRI RADHA

GOVINDA, and other Deities!!!

 

We are very thankful to all devotees who were praying for the devotees'

release from the lockup caused by the police and Adridharan das. We

especially feel indebted to Jananivas Prabhu and Pankajanghri Prabhu in

Mayapur who were praying to the Deities till midnight for the release of the

devotees.

 

We pray at the Lotus feet of all vaisnavas to kindly forgive us if we have

committed any offense in presenting the truth here. We do not want to

compromise with the principles of Sankirtan movement. We need your support

so that one day we all together can chant the holy name of the Lord in

bliss, following the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.

 

Hare Krishna.

 

Your servants,

 

Bhadra Balaram das (author)

Sridam das

Jagadartiha das

and others