Claim of ‘Mujib Bahini’ receiving training in Gopalganj circulated with an image of a Maoist training camp in India
On Facebook, a chat screenshot spread where, under a photo of seven armed men, it was claimed this was a regular arms training scene in Kotalipara of Tungipara. The screenshot spread with the claim – “Mujib Bahini is taking training in Gopalganj.” Dismislab’s verification shows the claim is not correct. The photo is not from arms training in Kotalipara of Tungipara, Gopalganj. It is at least 13 years old and shows Maoist members training in India.
On July 18, a Facebook profile posted a screenshot claiming, “Mujib Bahini is taking training in Gopalganj, this time 71 will destroy everyone.” The screenshot shows seven armed men in a field aiming their weapons in one direction. Below the photo, it was written – “Brother, in Tungipara Kotalipara, they regularly train with weapons. Fardeen Bhai’s post may not be false. Please check for yourselves.”. In the comment section of the post, one user assumed it was true and wrote that many are also taking such training in remote areas of Manikganj. Another said, “In various Indian military camps, Bharat League is taking training.”
By searching keywords, Dismislab found another post from a user named ‘Muaj Abdullah’ at 4 AM on July 18. He was the first to share the discussed screenshot. In the caption of the photo, he asked, “Is there really arms training in Kotalipara Tungipara? Does anyone know?” In the comments of this post, which has now been removed, Muaj attached a link to a post from a user named ‘Fardeen Hasan.’
From the ‘Fardeen Hasan’ profile, in the early hours of July 18, a post was made about a recent incident in Gopalganj. There, he claimed that, according to ‘secret sources,’ no one was killed in police or army firing in Gopalganj. Rather, in his words, a ‘paramilitia force’ had been prepared in Gopalganj centered around the NCP march – they wanted to kill the leaders of the uprising. According to Fardeen, “For this militant activity, they even held a three-day-long training camp. But on the day of the gathering, all of their plans failed.”
A few hours after Fardeen’s post, the screenshot was posted one after another from two profiles. Among them, in one post, it was directly claimed that arms training of ‘Mujib Bahini’ was going on in Gopalganj.
Dismislab verified the photo through reverse image search. The verification shows the photo is at least 13 years old. Since 2012, based on AFP’s source, the photo has been used as a symbolic image in several India-related Maoist reports in BBC, Mint, India Today, Hindustan Times, and other Indian media outlets. Detailed information about the photo is available in a report by AFPBB, a Japan-based outlet of AFP. According to AFP’s information, the file photo was taken on July 8, 2012. It shows Maoist members training in Chhattisgarh, a state in central India. The photo was taken by Noah Seelam.
From this, it is clear, the photo has no connection with Gopalganj or Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, to join the ‘March to Gopalganj’ program, leaders and activists of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) reached Gopalganj on July 16. Tension arose around the rally, and attacks were carried out on the party’s rally site and motorcade. Law enforcement forces also got involved in clashes. According to the latest information, at least five people have been killed. A curfew was imposed across the district after the incident. Although it was supposed to last until 11 AM on July 18, it was later extended. Around the clashes, several photos and videos spread on social media. Dismislab published a fact-check report verifying information about seven different photos and videos.
