Claim that Tofail Ahmed has passed away is false

A number of posts claiming that Tofail Ahmed, a member of the Advisory Council of the Bangladesh Awami League and former Commerce Minister, has passed away have been seen circulating on social media. However, according to the latest information found upon verification, he is currently undergoing treatment at Square Hospital in the capital. His Personal Assistant Secretary (APS) has said that the news of Tofail Ahmed’s death is a rumor.

Since September 28, multiple profiles and pages on Facebook have posted (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) claiming that the former commerce minister died while undergoing treatment at Square Hospital. Multiple posts making the same claim were also found on X (formerly Twitter) (1, 2, 3, 4).

To verify the accuracy of the information, Dismislab made inquiries today (September 29) at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Square Hospital in Dhaka. During the in-person verification, Tofail Ahmed’s APS , Abul Hasnat, was found in front of the CCU. He told Dismislab, “The news of his death is a rumor. His condition is slightly better than yesterday. He is opening his eyes and looking around. He is also making slight movements.” He confirmed this information at 3:00 p.m. At the time, a relative of Tofail Ahmed entered the CCU room to see him and emerged shortly thereafter.

At 4:30 p.m., Abul Hasnat was contacted again via mobile phone to inquire about Tofail Ahmed’s physical condition, when he said, “He is still on life support.”

After the news of Tofail Ahmed’s death spread on social media, multiple news outlets also published reports (1, 2) stating that the information was a rumor. A report was also published yesterday on the website of the online news outlet Bdnews24. The report, quoting Square Hospital’s Executive Officer Yusuf Siddique, stated that the information regarding Tofail Ahmed’s death was not correct.

The information regarding Tofail Ahmed’s death  circulating on social media since yesterday is false.

Claims of Tofail Ahmed’s death also spread on social media in April–May this year (1, 2). At that time, a report by the fact-checking organization Rumor Scanner stated that both claims were false.

Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on September 29, 2025. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.