Police on Sunday arrested Haridas Chandra Tarani Das, the organizer behind the construction of a Ram idol in Palashbari Upazila of Gaibandha.

He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit of police from his residence in Gaibandha.

Sarwar Alam Khan, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Palashbari Police Station, said Haridas was arrested in connection with a money laundering case filed at Uttara West Police Station in Dhaka.

The case is currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Bangladesh Police.

Khalid Monsur, Officer-in-Charge of Uttara West Police Station, confirmed a money laundering case had been filed against Haridas at the police station. He said the investigation had since been transferred to the CID's Crime Division, which would provide further details regarding the case.

As of the filing of this report, the CID had not issued any statement on the matter.

Arpona Ray Das, Senior Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Welfare Front and President of the Bangladesh Puja Celebration Front, condemned the arrest, alleging that Haridas was detained at night after authorities took the temple keys and that no arrest warrant had been presented.

Haridas became widely known in Palashbari for organising the construction of the 81-foot Ram idol at the Radha Gobinda Temple.

On June 12, the temple organisers announced at a press briefing that they had decided to suspend construction of the idol in order to "maintain communal harmony."