Ram idol construction entrepreneur Haridas Chandra arrested in Gaibandha

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police has arrested Haridas Chandra alias Taruni Das, the main entrepreneur of the controversial Ram idol construction project in Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha. The police said that he was arrested in a money laundering case filed with the Uttara Paschim Police Station in Dhaka.

He was arrested from the Sri Sri Radha Govinda Kali Mandir area located in Madhya Ramchandrapur village of Hossainpur union of the upazila around 12:30 am on Sunday, July 12. Later, members of the CID took him to Dhaka.

Arrested Haridas Chandra Taruni Das is the son of Gopinath Chandra Das of Madhya Ramchandrapur village. He became a national sensation after taking the initiative to renovate the local temple and build a Ram idol in the temple premises.

Palashbari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sarwar Alam Khan confirmed the arrest. He said that the CID had arrested Haridas in a case in Dhaka. Additional police have been deployed in the temple and surrounding areas after the incident. He also said that the situation in the area is normal.

According to local residents, Haridas is the fourth of five brothers and one sister. He went to India after studying in a local school up to the primary stage. After a long time, he returned to his village in 2024 and took the initiative to renovate the old structures of the local Kali temple.

Later, a temple management committee was formed through a meeting with the villagers. According to local sources, Haridas was made the president of that committee and Bipin Chandra Das was made the general secretary.

In May 2025, the work of changing and modernizing the infrastructure of the old temple began. The temple was later renamed Sri Sri Radha Govinda Kali Mandir. Recently, the construction of an 81-foot-tall Ram idol on the temple premises sparked widespread debate.

Various quarters have raised questions about the permission to build the idol, the cost of the project, and the source of funding. Meetings and programs have also been held in some areas demanding a halt to the construction work, an investigation into the source of funding, and action against the entrepreneur. However, no final investigation report has been made public on these demands and allegations.

Earlier, in November 2022, a joint team of RAB and the National Security Intelligence Agency arrested Haridas from the capital's Banani area. At that time, law enforcement agencies had alleged that he had used a fake identity of being associated with a high-ranking government official to defraud, transfer, and take money on the pretext of providing benefits related to tenders.

The law enforcement agencies then further claimed that Haridas had once converted to Islam and used the name Tawheed Islam and was in the business of repairing and buying and selling old air conditioners in Dhaka. These were the allegations of the relevant agencies at the time; no allegation can be considered a proven crime without a final court verdict.

The specific charges against him, the amount of the transaction and whether there are any other accused in the current money laundering case were not immediately available. Neither Haridas nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.