DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov 26, (AP): A prominent Bangladeshi Hindu leader who has been leading rallies demanding security for Hindus in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation was ordered detained on charges of sedition Tuesday. The magistrate court of Kazi Shariful Islam denied bail to Krishna Das Prabhu and ordered him detained pending further proceedings.

But as police attempted to transport the Hindu leader to jail, his supporters surrounded the van carrying him, forcing it to stop. Hindus and members of other minority groups say they have faced more attacks than ever since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising in August and an interim government took over.

The government says the threat to Hindus has been exaggerated. Around 91% of Bangladesh’s population is Muslim, with Hindus making up almost all of the rest. Prabhu, also known as Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, faces charges of sedition filed in October after he led a huge rally in Chattogram in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag.

He was arrested in Dhaka’s main airport on Monday while traveling to Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh. Kushal Baran Chakrabarty, who was accompanying Prabhu at the time of his arrest, said that several detectives took the Hindu leader to a police car at the airport. "Chinmoy Prabhu gave his phone to me as he was forcefully taken to the police car. The police detectives jostled with us to forcefully take his phone and they took it away. We then followed the police car that headed for the headquarters of the Detective Branch at Minto Road in Dhaka,” he said. "We stayed outside the Detective Branch’s office.”

Prabhu faces charges of sedition filed in October after he led a huge rally in Chattogram in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag. Dhaka-based leading Prothom Alo daily reported that Prabhu would be produced before a court on Tuesday, and that two other people have been arrested in the case. On Tuesday, the Hindu leader was brought before the magistrate court of Kazi Shariful Islam in southeastern city of Chattogram, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported. The court was packed and dozens of lawyers stood for him to seek bail.