Written by The Banking Post
On 12 September, during his visit to the United Kingdom, Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Mahfuz Alam attended an event at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), University of London. At that time, Awami League leaders and activists staged a protest there.
A video circulating on social media shows some protesters attacking a man. The video was shared with the claim that the victim was Netra News editor-in-chief Tasneem Khalil.
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the person who was beaten by Awami League activists in London was not journalist Tasneem Khalil. Rather, a video of another person being beaten has been circulated with the claim that it was Tasneem Khalil.
At the beginning of the investigation, Rumor Scanner analysed the discussed video and saw that among those involved in the beating was Awami League-affiliated activist Sushanta Das Gupta. From his personal Facebook profile, in a post on 13 September, it was claimed that the assaulted person’s name is “Fahim Ushher.” The post also included a screenshot of a Facebook account named “Fahim Ushher” and a photo of him.
Following this lead, Fahim’s Facebook account was found. In the account’s intro, he identified himself as a member of the National Citizen Party (NCP).
In addition, from a Facebook account named “Ahmed SR Chowdhury,” a post tagging the “Fahim Ushher” account was found, which contained Fahim’s photo. Later, when that photo was compared with the person seen in the video, a resemblance was found, along with noticeable differences from Tasneem Khalil.
On the other hand, in response to claims on Facebook that he had been attacked, Tasneem Khalil wrote: “I woke up in Uttara. Around noon, I went to Mawa with a friend to eat hilsa fish. In the evening, I had coffee in Gulshan with another friend. Before going to bed at night, I learned on Facebook that there had allegedly been an attack on me in London.” This indicates that he was in Bangladesh at the time of the incident, not in London.
Additionally, there is no reliable source confirming that Tasneem Khalil was in the UK on the trip with Mahfuz Alam.
It is worth noting that after the seminar in question, when a car of the Bangladesh High Commission left, some people tried to lie down in front of it, thinking it was the car of Adviser Mahfuz Alam. When police intervention foiled that attempt, eggs were thrown at the car. However, the Bangladesh High Commission in London confirmed that Mahfuz Alam was not in that vehicle.
Therefore, the video showing a person being beaten in London has been falsely circulated as Tasneem Khalil being attacked, which is misleading.
Sources
- Sushanta Das Gupta: Facebook Post
- Fahim Ushher: Facebook Profile
- Ahmed SR Chowdhury: Facebook Post
