[🇧🇩] Disinformation/Misinformation in Indian Media on communal attacks in Bangladesh

[Saif]

India’s playing around minority issues

India and Bangladesh held a foreign office consultation on December 9. This has been the first high-level meeting since India suffered a huge setback at the overthrow of prime minister Sheikh Hasina...

www.newagebd.net

India’s playing around minority issues
by Mohammad Abdur Razzak 14 December, 2024, 00:00

A handout photograph taken on December 9 and released by Bangladesh’s foreign affairs ministry shows India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri, third from right, and his Bangladesh’s counterpart Mohammad Jashim Uddin, second from left, at a meeting in Dhaka. | Agence France-Presse

India and Bangladesh held a foreign office consultation on December 9. This has been the first high-level meeting since India suffered a huge setback at the overthrow of prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5. The political changeover created a complex diplomatic gamut, pushing the relationship between Bangladesh and India to its low.

The foreign office consultation being a structured meeting, its scope was limited. Nevertheless, in the context of strained relationship resulting from the political changeover, the meeting created much hype, curiosity and speculation. The focus trickled down to seeing how India uses the consultation to shore up the damage created after the political changeover and put it back on track to move towards a positive direction. After the meeting, foreign secretaries of both the countries held separate press conferences.

India’s foreign secretary at the press conference said that India supports a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh and willing to build a positive and constructive relationship based on mutual trust and respect and mutual sensitivity to each other’s concern and interests. The foreign secretary said that India’s development cooperation and multifaceted engagements with Bangladesh, including in areas of connectivity, trade, power, energy and capacity building, are all geared towards benefits of the people of Bangladesh.

The Indian official’s statement contradicted the reality of the past and, hence, it was filled with more of diplomatic rhetoric. India did not support a democratic Bangladesh. It, rather, promoted undemocratic practices in the past 15 years. Bangladesh welcomes a relationship based on mutual respect whereas India wants a relationship on its dictated terms. The Indian foreign secretary emphasised a people-centric relationship, but it did not value the people and people’s government but a partisan government of its choice. Since the political changeover, India took a couple of actions such as limiting consular services where people became victims, allowing a free fall of disinformation from Indian media against Bangladesh, etc.

The Indian foreign secretary also conveyed India’s concern about the safety and welfare of minorities although India knows it well that large or small, all communities in Bangladesh were enjoying religious freedom and the rights and privileges of a bona fide citizen. He has also raised concern about some incidents of attacks on cultural, religious and diplomatic properties. The minority card was his important talking point on the table during the consultation.

India has been playing the minority card from the day the political changeover took place in Bangladesh. India taking cognisance of series of disinformation from Indian media expressed concern about the security of minorities in Bangladesh. The persecution of minorities in India has been an everyday affair since the anti-Muslim riot in Gujarat in 2002 which left more than 1,000 people dead. Genocide Watch called the incident the ‘the 2002 Gujarat genocidal massacres’ in its report published in 2023. Even the Hindus are not safe in India. Higher caste Hindus discriminating and maltreating lower caste Hindus is an everyday affair.

Bangladesh’s foreign secretary at the press conference rightly said that ‘the government of Bangladesh expected no interference in the country’s internal matter as we do not make any comments on the internal matter of other countries. We expect the same from others.’ Dhaka also raised concern about the misinformation and disinformation around minority issues by a section of the Indian media. This has a damaging impact on people-to-people relations. It was essential for the Indian government to stop media propaganda to support a ‘stable Bangladesh.’ India’s play over the minority issue is embarrassing the Hindus in Bangladesh and harming their dignity.

The minority card against Bangladesh is the agenda of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu extremist organisation, which is the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. This organisation is extremely intolerant of Muslims not only in India but the Muslims all over the world, in general, and South Asia, in particular.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded in Nagpur, India, in 1925. ‘During the colonial period, the RSS collaborated with the British and played no role in the Indian Independence…. It was banned in 1947 for four days and then thrice by the post-independence Indian government, first in 1948 when Nathuram Godse a member of the RSS assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, then during the emergency (1975–1977) and for a third time after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992…. The RSS has been criticised as an extremist organisation and there is a scholarly consensus that it spreads hatred and promotes violence’ (Wikipedia).

The Gujarat massacre 2002 is a notorious testimony of the RSS extremism. The Gujarat riot followed by a India-wide anti Muslim persecution turned the table in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. During the Gujarat massacre, ‘the chief minister of Gujarat was Narendra Modi, a lifelong member of the Hindu extremist RSS’ (Genocide Watch). The BJP government came to power with the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with a delicate election results in 2024, making it more dependent on this extremist Hindu organisation for a political survival. The BJP government cannot ignore Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh agenda in Bangladesh because of the leadership’s deep association with the organisation and political dependence and it, therefore, cannot forego inventing minority issues in Bangladesh to keep the domestic audience rallying behind the Bharatiya Janata Party.

As India plays the minority card, there is a greater risk of people on either side of the border becoming acrimonious much against the interests of both Bangladesh and India. However, India’s persistent attempts at inventing minority issues in Bangladesh could have a geopolitical motivation to offset its territorial weakness.

Mohammad Abdur Razzak a retired commodore of the Bangladesh navy, is a security analyst.​

 

[Saif]

The Republic TV’s gospel of gibberish

Exploring the sensationalist world of Republic TV and its controversial hosts.

www.thedailystar.net

The Republic TV’s gospel of gibberish

VISUAL: ALIZA RAHMAN

The magnificent, maddening, melodramatic world of Republic TV, where facts take a back seat and shouting is a virtue. It's a place where Arnab Goswami, India's loudest voice box, reigns supreme, and his Bangalee counterpart, Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh, tries valiantly to match his decibel levels.

For the uninitiated, tuning into Republic TV is like walking into a soap opera. Every broadcast feels like an audition for the role of a lifetime—except Arnab isn't acting; he believes he's India's moral compass and, on occasion, its official spokesperson. Meanwhile, Mayukh crafts his own absurd tales, convinced that every tea stall in Bangladesh is a secret meeting ground for anti-Indian conspirators.

Arnab Goswami wasn't always the yelling sensation he is today. Once upon a time, he was a relatively calm and collected journalist. A graduate of Delhi University and Oxford University, Arnab began his career at The Telegraph before moving to NDTV, where he earned a reputation as a balanced anchor. That all changed when he joined Times Now in 2006 and launched his signature show The Newshour. This was where the seeds of his now infamous style were planted. By the time he founded Republic TV in 2017, Arnab had transformed into a fully fledged shouting machine, with his iconic catchphrase "The nation wants to know" becoming less of a question and more of a command.

Arnab's evolution from journalist to demagogue can be traced through a series of controversies that highlight his penchant for sensationalism over substance. One of the earliest incidents that cemented his reputation was his coverage of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Arnab turned his studio into a theatre of outrage, lambasting government officials and questioning their patriotism. His fiery rhetoric resonated with a section of the middle class, who saw him as a voice of their frustration.

But Arnab's true colours began to show when he started prioritising narratives that aligned with the ruling BJP's agenda. During the 2019 Pulwama attack and the subsequent Balakot airstrikes, Arnab's coverage crossed the line from patriotic to propagandistic. Leaked WhatsApp chats revealed that he had prior knowledge of the airstrikes, raising serious questions about his ethics and his proximity to power. The chats also included a chilling moment where Arnab expressed glee over the Pulwama attack, viewing it as a political opportunity for the BJP.

Arnab's relationship with facts is tenuous at best. During the early days of the Covid pandemic, he falsely accused the Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary group, of being "super spreaders." This baseless claim fuelled a wave of Islamophobia, leading to hate crimes and social ostracism against Muslims across India. Courts later cleared the Tablighi Jamaat of any wrongdoing, but Arnab, true to form, never apologised or corrected his statements.

Take the time he accused Sonia Gandhi of orchestrating the lynching of two Hindu monks in Maharashtra. Most journalists would investigate the root causes of such an incident. But Arnab skipped the investigation and hopped onto his moral high horse.

Then there's the infamous TRP scam, where Arnab's Republic Network was accused of manipulating ratings to claim it was India's most-watched news channel. If this were any other network, it might have been a moment of reckoning. For Arnab, it was just another day at the office. He emerged from the scandal as he does from every controversy: louder, brasher, and utterly unapologetic.

Then there's Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh, Arnab's eager apprentice. Republic Bangla, the Bangla wing of the Republic empire, has taken Arnab's formula and added its own regional flavour. While Arnab is busy accusing Pakistan of plotting world domination, Mayukh has set his sights on Bangladesh. According to him, Chattogram is India's rightful territory, Bangladeshi satellites are spying on Kolkata, and China is secretly building airbases in the Chicken Neck region.

Mayukh's show, Jabab Chay Bangla, has become a cultural phenomenon, not because it's informative but because it's so outrageously absurd. It's the kind of programme you watch with a mix of horror and amusement. His claims are so outlandish that even die-hard Republic fans would sometimes pause and say, "Wait, did he really just say that?"

The real tragedy here is that this isn't just entertainment. Republic TV and Republic Bangla are dangerous because they blur the line between news and propaganda. Arnab and Mayukh don't just report events; they twist them into narratives that fuel division and hatred. The Palghar lynching, for example, wasn't just a tragedy; it became a weapon in Arnab's arsenal, used to vilify political opponents and stoke communal tensions.

Mayukh, too, is no stranger to fearmongering. His rants about Bangladesh are designed to inflame nationalist sentiments and distract viewers from real issues. In one episode, he claimed that Pakistani warships were docking at Chattogram. The Bangladesh Navy, no doubt baffled by this revelation, probably had to check their port schedules just to be sure.

Arnab and Mayukh aren't journalists; they're performers. Their broadcasts are less about informing the public and more about putting on a show. Arnab's trademark shout is his opening act, his panellists are the supporting cast, and his audience is the unsuspecting victim of this nightly spectacle.

Mayukh, not to be outdone, has perfected his own dramatic flair. His facial expressions range from righteous indignation to exaggerated shock, as if he's just discovered the eighth wonder of the world. His scripts are masterpieces of melodrama, filled with ominous pauses and declarations of doom.

Republic TV claims to be India's most-watched news channel, and Republic Bangla has a growing fanbase in West Bengal. Their viewers aren't just passive consumers; they're believers, convinced that the duo are the last bastions of truth in a world gone mad.

This, of course, is the real danger. Arnab and Mayukh aren't just entertainers; they're propagandists. They use their platforms to spread misinformation, fuel communal hatred, and distract from real issues. Their programmes aren't about holding power accountable; they're about reinforcing the narratives of those in power.

Viewers need to be more discerning, seek out news sources that prioritise facts over theatrics. Until then, the circus continues. Arnab will keep shouting, Mayukh will keep spinning his tales, and Republic's audience will keep lapping it up. As for the rest of us, we can only watch in disbelief and hope that someday, sanity will return to the screens.

H.M. Nazmul Alam is lecturer at the Department of English and Modern Languages of the International University of Business, Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT).​

 

[Saif]

Disinformation targets right-wing audiences, Indians

Reveals TGI analysis of content on Bangladesh on X

www.thedailystar.net

Disinformation targets right-wing audiences, Indians
Reveals TGI analysis of content on Bangladesh on X

Since the fall of the Awami League government in August, a surge of disinformation about Bangladesh has flooded social media sites. Accounts on X.com (formerly Twitter) are especially guilty of peddling such disinformation, and they are targeting audiences both inside and outside India with a focus on narratives that align with Indian right-wing or ultra-nationalist ideologies.

Tech Global Institute, an independent tech policy nonprofit, analysed 100 unique social media posts that were randomly sampled from a dataset of 1000 posts relating to specific hashtags, topics, or user activity between July 26 and November 26, and revealed its findings in a report titled "The Anatomy of Disinformation on X".

Disinformation across social media platforms, mainly on X

Tech Global Institute (TGI) found that 77 percent of the posts they analysed were found on X, with the other 23 percent found on Facebook and YouTube. When it comes to the distribution of these posts, 35 percent were cross-posted on all three platforms, while 71 percent of the posts were shared via private messaging services such as Messenger and WhatsApp.

Of the four months worth of social media posts scrutinised by TGI, a touch over 30 percent of the posts were made in August. The number of such posts made in September and October were relatively low, but disinformation exploded on X in November, surpassing all three past months, with over 40 percent of the content analysed posted then.

TGI found that this spike in disinformation in November coincided with a 214 percent increase in new accounts on X linked to disinformation about Bangladesh from August-September to October-November.

'Plight' of Hindu community the dominant narrative

The posts analysed in the TGI report point to a prevalence of a few specific narratives.

The "mass violence and killings of the Hindu community" featured in 27 percent of the posts analysed, while 21 percent were distortion of facts about hyperlocal incidents into false communal narratives.

Other dominant narratives include people facing discrimination and/or assault due to religion (18 percent), vandalism of Hindu properties and temples (9 percent), claims about annexation of territory (6 percent), claims about Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus's (5 percent) and the interim government's (5 percent) "association" with terror groups, calls for violence or boycott of Bangladesh (3 percent), and claims about Hindu women being victims of mass rape or sexual assault (3 percent). The remaining 4 percent of analysed posts were not tied to the key narratives mentioned above.

TGI ascertained with "some confidence that these accounts are likely [to be] operating out of India or their content coincides with Indian ultranationalist groups, and [are] meant to reach audiences both inside and outside India".

In order to make this observation, they looked for and found certain signals in social media posts, such as a focus on narratives aligning with Indian right-wing or ultra-nationalist ideologies; referring to content from right-wing media outlets in India; using Hindi in profile names, posts and comments; frequently tagging Indian political figures; coordinated engagement efforts meant to amplify the reach of posts; use of similar hashtags; use of vernacular specific to Indian culture; and the general focus on Indian ultra-nationalist politics.

Tactics commonly used by disinformation agents

The report boiled down recent disinformation campaigns to a handful of generalised tactics used on social media, some of which have been used by Russian and Chinese campaigns on social media in the past.

The most prevalent and repetitive tactic is to distort facts about hyperlocal events and giving them a communal spin to heighten tensions. An example that was used in the report featured the video of a mentally ill man wielding a stick and scaring students in a classroom at Sir Salimullah Medical College in Dhaka. Many users in X shared this video with captions insinuating the person was a "violent Islamist" or that Bangladesh is being Talibanised.

Another tactic mentioned is the exaggeration of claims about killings and mass violence, like sharing images of a protest in Chattogram that resulted in injuries with captions falsely claiming that the army and Jamaat-e-Islami had attacked and killed/injured 50 Hindus.

Social media posts also saw widespread discrediting of the interim government and false claims the chief adviser or other student leaders in government positions had ties to terrorist groups.

Some posts and accounts also sought to create fake evidence of grassroots campaigning in support of their false claims. X user accounts with names such as "Voices of Bangladeshi Hindus" or "Hindu Voice" were used for this tactic.

Disinformation also infiltrated mainstream media, where many false claims were broadcast only to be proven false later on by independent fact checkers. For example, many Indian outlets even carried the false claim that Saiful Islam Alif, a lawyer who died during a clash between supports of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy and law enforcers, was actually Chinmoy's counsel. It was later proved that he was not related to the case.

TGI says the degree of foreign disinformation faced by Bangladesh is not yet on the scale of campaigns typically run by China, Iran, Russia, or India. They suggest added attention be paid to the underlying issues of national security and foreign policy that are leading to the origination of these threats.

Apon Das, a research associate at Tech Global Institute and a co-author of the report, says, "For most of our fact-checking efforts, we are mainly focused on Facebook and dependent on local news organisations. They establish facts and we wait for them. But when there's some sort of gap in their reporting, when people are still eager to know about an incident, that is where disinformation finds a space to grow."

He suggests that more research is needed in this sphere. Fact-checking cannot remain an exercise limited to local networks.

"We need to start looking at foreign nationals when they speak about Bangladesh, and continue research on foreign disinformation."​

 

[Saif]

Rumor Scanner debunks video claiming militancy emergence in Bangladesh

Fact-checking agency Rumor Scanner in an investigation found that a video on a performance of students at an annual competition in Jashore Jamia Islamia Madrasah was falsified as rise of militancy, gatherings or calls for jihad in Bangladesh

en.prothomalo.com

Rumor Scanner debunks video claiming militancy emergence in Bangladesh
BSS
Dhaka
Published: 20 Dec 2024, 16: 26

Fact-checking agency Rumor Scanner in an investigation found that a video on a performance of students at an annual competition in Jashore Jamia Islamia Madrasah was falsified as rise of militancy, gatherings or calls for jihad in Bangladesh.

It said the video of a competition at the Jamia Islamia Madrasa in Jashore is being claimed as a campaign for militancy in Bangladesh; which is misleading.

In a report published on its website on Thursday, the fact-checking body said a video was recently circulated on social media where a person is seen giving a sermon in Arabic with his face covered with a cloth and two other people in black attires are standing on either side of him with weapon-like objects covering their faces.

The video is being circulated claiming that militancy has risen in Bangladesh and that a call for jihad has been made.

The investigation of the Rumor Scanner Team debunked that the “video circulated has no connection with the rise of militancy, gatherings or calls for jihad in Bangladesh. In fact, it is a scene of a performance by students at the annual competition and award ceremony of a madrasa named Jashore Jamia Islamia”.

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy posted the video on his verified Facebook account and X (formerly Twitter) account claiming that the people shown in the video are propagating extremism or militants in the guise of IS.

Sajeeb Wazed's post was also shared from the verified Facebook page of Bangladesh Awami League and the Facebook account of former Dhaka University Chhatra League president Sanjit Chandra Das.

Writer Taslima Nasrin also posted the video on her Facebook account, claiming that the video calls for jihad.

In addition, the video was circulated by the West Bengal media including Republic Bangla, TV9 Bangla, claiming that the video showed a meeting of militants with weapons and a call for jihad in Bangladesh.

In the investigation of this matter, observing the video circulated, the banner at the back of the stage reads ‘Jashore Jamia Islamia’, the team found that a video was circulated on December 17 from a Facebook account named ‘HM Abdullah Jashore’ , which appears to be the first version of this video circulated on Facebook.

The caption of the video says, “Jashore Jamia Islamia Annual Competition and Award Ceremony -2024, Arabic speech, please watch everyone”.

While observing the bio of the said Facebook account, it is known that the account holder has mentioned himself as the Assistant Head of the Hefz Department of Jashore Jamia Islamia Madrasa. The Facebook page of Jashore Jamia Islamia can also be found from the same Facebook account.

On seeing the Facebook page, it is also exposed that the founder and Director General of the madrasa, Mufti Lutfur Rahman Farooqui, explained the issue in a Facebook live yesterday (December 18).

He said that the video broadcast was a part of the annual Anjuman meaning annual cultural programme of Jashore Jamia Islamia on December 17, 2024, which has no relation to militancy. He also said that the firearm-like object in his hand is not a real firearm but is made of cork sheet (shola).

In addition, a poster of the annual competition and award ceremony at Jashore Jamia Islamia Madrasa was shared on the said Facebook page on December 15. However, the specific date of the ceremony was not mentioned in the poster.

Rumor Scanner contacted Magfur Rahman, Education Secretary of Jashore Jamia Islamia Madrasa, to learn more about the matter.

He said that the video being broadcast was of the students' competition ceremony on December 17 and 18.

There were exhibitions on various topics such as Hamd Naat, Qirat, Hifzul competition, Bengali and Arabic speeches, and dressing up as they wish. The broadcast video was part of such an exhibition. The backdrop of the exhibition was the current situation in Israel and Palestine.

The Israelis are attacking Palestinians and killing women, children, helpless people, and the elderly. They are demolishing houses. The student gave a speech in Arabic on these issues.

The student said that the honor of these helpless and poor mothers and sisters should not be ruined, so that they do not die again. We Muslims should be vocal about them. The claim being circulated in this regard is false and has already been verified by the police station.

Apart from this, observing Mufti Magfur Rahman's Facebook account 'Mufti Magfur Rahman Jashore', it is seen that multiple live videos of the event were posted from the same stage on December 17. In some of those posts, the entire text of the banner behind the stage was also visible.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the discussion on social media about the video, Officer-in-Charge of Jashore Kotwali Police Station Abdur Razzak commented on the video circulated to the online media outlet The Daily Campus as an immediate reaction, claiming that the video being circulated was false.

However, on December 19, Jashore District Police circulated a video on their Facebook page in this regard.

The post reveals that several teams of Jashore District Police have investigated the video in question and found that on December 17, three students of the institution participated in “Jemon Kushi Temon Sajo” competition as part of the annual function and award ceremony-2024 at the said madrasa, and this video is part of it.

Jashore district police inspected the said madrasa on-site and found two firearm-like objects, which were made of cork sheet and wood.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Man these Bengali, Sri Lankan or Nepali here in Japan are all very peaceful people. Totally non violent and civil folk. Ain't no drama wid dem at all.

I can't imagine these three folks getting into any trouble anywhere.

 

[Saif]

No place for Islamic extremism in Bangladesh

Islamic extremism will never find a place in Bangladesh again, said Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus recently.

www.thedailystar.net

No place for Islamic extremism in Bangladesh
Says Yunus in an interview with The Economist

Patrick Foulis, left, and Dr Muhammad Yunus. Photos: Screengrab

Islamic extremism will never find a place in Bangladesh again, said Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus recently.

"I can assure that's not taking place at all. These are very enthusiastic young people -- they are very neutral about their religion," Yunus told the weekly British magazine The Economist's foreign editor Patrick Foulis in an interview recently.

Yunus's response came when Foulis mentioned both American and Indian officials have warned that there is some risk of Islamic extremism coming back in Bangladesh.

The interview was taken on the occasion of Bangladesh being selected as The Economist's country of the year for 2024, an accolade that the influential magazine hands out every year to a country it deems to be the most improved country in the world.

"But for toppling a despot and taking strides towards a more liberal government, Bangladesh is our country of the year," The Economist said.

In response, Yunus said: "Oh, we are delighted. We feel very proud that we made a big change because of the student uprising that took place. And from then on, we are saying we are creating a new Bangladesh."

The youth want to build a new Bangladesh, he said.

"Young people can change the whole world. It's not about changing one country or another country. What Bangladesh has done is one example of how powerful this young generation is. Let's pay attention to the young people."

He said particular attention must be given to the young women.

"Young girls played a very important role in the Bangladeshi uprising. They were on the frontline just like any other young person in the country. We should be paying attention to the young girls, young boys and make sure they can fulfil their dreams. If they have the opportunity, they have the capacity to do that."

He cited the case of the "three of the young people who led the uprising" and are in his cabinet.

"They are doing an excellent job. They are capable. They are not the young people of the previous centuries -- they are young people of this century. They are as capable as anybody else."

Asked what he would do after the "election is held in 2025 elections", Yunus said: "I was actually taken away from my job. I was forced into this work. I was doing my job. I was enjoying it -- that's why I was in Paris. I was dragged out of Paris to do something else. So I'll be happy to go back to my work that I always did and enjoyed all my life -- the young people love it. So I go back to that team and that movement that I tried to generate around the world."​

 

[Saif]

CA press wing debunks Indian media reports on violence against Hindus

Indian media outlets' reports claiming 2200 incidents of violence occured against Hindus in 2024 is a misleading and highly exaggerated ones, the chief adviser's press wing has said.

en.prothomalo.com

CA press wing debunks Indian media reports on violence against Hindus
BSS
Published: 21 Dec 2024, 21: 22

Indian media outlets' reports claiming 2200 incidents of violence occured against Hindus in 2024 is a misleading and highly exaggerated ones, the chief adviser's press wing has said.

Several Indian media outlets, including India Today, Anandabazar, citing the country’s Ministry of External Affairs, on Friday reported that in Bangladesh, 47 incidents of violence against Hindus occurred in the year 2022, 302 in 2023, and 2,200 in 2024.

"The figure is misleading and highly exaggerated," the press wing said in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page - CA Press Wing Facts - yesterday.

According to the independent human rights organisation, Ain O Salish Kendra, the number of violent incidents against religious minorities in Bangladesh between January and November 2024 is 138, in which 368 houses were attacked and 82 people were injured.

The interim government of Bangladesh is investigating every reported incident and is committed to taking the perpetrators to book, according to the statement.

At least 97 cases have been filed between 4 August and 10 December, and 75 people were arrested for alleged attacks on religious minorities since August, according to police headquarters.

"Many of these incidents happened between 5 August and 8 August when there was no government. Most of these attacks were political in nature," the statement read.

The government has requested all to refrain from providing misleading information regarding such hate crimes.​

 

[Bilal9]

There are certain quarters in India spreading hate speech and propaganda, not the whole country. Bangladeshi media should make that distinction.

 

[Saif]

There are certain quarters in India spreading hate speech and propaganda, not the whole country. Bangladeshi media should make that distinction.

What else can we expect from gigolos' of Mughals/Brits/Arab Sheikhs?

 

[Saif]

CA press wing debunks PTI report on Hindu man killing in Natore

Chief adviser's press wing has termed a news item of Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) over the killing of a Hindu man at a crematorium in Natore "misleading and exaggerated."

en.prothomalo.com

CA press wing debunks PTI report on Hindu man killing in Natore
BSS
Published: 22 Dec 2024, 18: 46

Chief adviser's press wing has termed a news item of Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) over the killing of a Hindu man at a crematorium in Natore "misleading and exaggerated."

"After a man was killed in a possible theft at a crematorium in Natore, Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) described the incident as communal violence without proper verification," CA press wing said in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page - CA Press Wing Facts - today.

On Saturday, PTI published the news quoting a video published on the X (formerly Twitter) handle of Kolkata ISKCON spokesperson Radharaman Das. No Bangladeshi authorities, Hindu leaders, or relatives of the victims were quoted in this news.

Many Indian media, including Hindustan Times and The Indian Express, published the PTI item.

Hrishikesh Gauranga Das, a member of the executive committee of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangladesh, said: "It is not responsible to pass off an incident as a communal murder without verifying it. Such exaggerated news can damage communal harmony in Bangladesh."

Confirming that Tarun Kumar was not a member of ISKCON, he urged the media to collect information at the local level or through official channels before publishing any such news.

Police recovered the body of a man named Tarun Kumar Das, 60, from the Bara Harishpur cremation ground under Sadar Police Station in Natore district on Saturday.

Initially, it is suspected that the killer strangled the victim to death as he screamed when unidentified thieves were carrying out the burglary at the Bhogghar inside the cremation ground.

Police said some bronze plates were stolen from the crematorium.

According to a local Hindu community leader, the victim was mentally ill for a long time and had been staying at the crematorium for several days, the statement read.

Natore Sadar police's officer in charge (OC) Md Mahbubor Rahman said, "Based on the information we received from Saturday to Sunday morning, it is initially believed that some drug addicts tried to steal the bronze plates. All possible motives for the murder are being investigated."

Satya Narayan Roy Tipu, general secretary of the cremation committee in Natore, said, "Tarun Kumar is not a member of the cremation committee, and he was not a priest. He was a bit mentally unstable."

"Tarun Kumar was not a member of ISKCON or any other organisation. We do not think there is any communal involvement in this incident."​