Dhaka College students detained for extortion falsely labeled as Shibir activists
A video circulating on Facebook claims that police arrested four Shibir activists from Dhaka College with drugs. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found this claim false. Multiple news reports confirm that the four students were detained by the army on January 5, 2026, in front of Eden Mohila College in Lalbagh on extortion charges, not for drug possession, and not as Shibir members.
A personal Facebook account posted the video on March 1, 2026. The 1:40‑minute clip shows four young men standing with their heads bowed as army personnel instruct them to look up for photographs. Two appear to be crying.
An inserted graphic in the video shows an image of DUCSU VP Shadik Kayem alongside the caption: “Police arrest four Shibir activists from Dhaka College with drugs.” The post’s caption added: “These Jamaat‑Shibir drug dealers must be stopped.” By the time of reporting, the video had been viewed over 17,000 times and shared more than 1,200 times. Many commenters accepted the claim at face value. One wrote: “These drug dealers deserve the strictest punishment.” Another commented: “Islam on the outside, evil on the inside.”
The video was also posted from multiple other Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
A reverse image search of keyframes led Dismislab to a January 6, 2026, YouTube Shorts published by the news outlet Bangladesh Bulletin titled “Four Dhaka College students detained by the army on extortion charges.” The visuals match the viral clip.
Keyword searches uncovered several written (1, 2, 3, 4) and video reports (1, 2, 3, 4) from mainstream Bangladeshi outlets that covered the incident at the time.
According to The Daily Ittefaq and other media, the army detained four Dhaka College students on January 5 for extortion in front of Gate 1 of Eden Mohila College in Lalbagh. They had reportedly been detained once before for the same offense. Around 9:10 p.m., the group was handed over to a sub‑inspector at Lalbagh Police Station.
Several outlets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) identified the detainees as Chhatra Dal activists. None of the reports described them as members of Islami Chhatrashibir, nor did any outlet report that they were arrested with drugs.
The claim that “four Shibir activists from Dhaka College were arrested with drugs” is false. The four individuals were Dhaka College students detained by the army on extortion charges, and no credible report identifies them as Shibir members.
