Notice of the NCP leader’s removal is spreading in the media with wrong headlines
A claim has been circulating in various media outlets and on social media that NCP leader Muntasir Mahmud was removed from his position due to allegations of homosexuality. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found that Muntasir Mahmud, an organizer of the party, was temporarily relieved from the National Citizen Party (NCP) on charges of violating party discipline.
Since October 12, several media outlets (1, 2, 3, 4) have published reports with headlines such as “NCP leader removed over homosexuality allegations.” Subsequently, the same claim started spreading on several Facebook pages (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and profiles (1, 2, 3).
A report published by Barta Bazar on October 12 stated, “After criticism over allegations homosexuality, Muntasir Mahmud, central committee organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has been temporarily relieved from the party. The matter of removal was announced in a notice signed by Sadia Farzana Dina, a member of the party’s office cell, on Sunday (October 12).”
Dismislab’s verification shows that the person whose photo was used in those reports is not actually Muntasir Mahmud. The photo belongs to Md. Muntasir Rahman, an activist who has no affiliation with the NCP at the moment.
On February 28, 2025, Muntasir Rahman gave a post on his Facebook profile, saying: Md. Muntasir Rahman, Joint Member Secretary, National Citizen Party. Notably, NCP was formally launched that day and it announced the formation of a partial committee.
Mim Akter, the sister of July Movement martyr Md. Ismail Hasan Rabbi, announced the party’s name at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka. In the 171-member partial committee announced that day, Muntasir Rahman was given the position of Joint Member Secretary. Several (1, 2, 3, 4) news reports were published at that time regarding this announcement, and the name of Muntasir Rahman was listed as Joint Member Secretary in those reports.
Later, on March 2, NCP officially published the full list of the Central Convening Committee on its verified Facebook page. However, no one named Md. Muntasir Rahman holding the position of Joint Member Secretary was on the list. Instead, Muntasir Mahmud was listed as an organizer.
For further verification, Dismislab reviewed the verified NCP’s Facebook page and found a statement issued at 7:45 p.m. on October 12. The caption of the post read, “Issuance of show-cause notice and removal order.” The notice was addressed to organizer Muntasir Mahmud, not Muntasir Rahman.
The notice stated, “Serious allegations of violation of party discipline have been raised against you. In this situation, as preliminary evidence of the allegations has been found, under the direction of the NCP Convener, Mr. Nahid Islam, and Member Secretary Mr. Akhtar Hossain, you are hereby temporarily relieved from all kinds of organizational activities of the National Citizen Party – NCP. This removal order will take effect from today.”
The notice further stated, “At the same time, you are requested to submit a written explanation within 48 hours to the Head of the Central Discipline Committee, Mr. Advocate Abdullah Al-Amin, explaining why you should not be permanently relieved from your position.”
Further verification found that Muntasir Mahmud, who holds the position of organizer in NCP, shared the NCP’s notice on his verified Facebook profile on October 14. In the caption, he wrote, “Assalamu Alaikum. I will go to the central office in Bangla Motor today at 7 p.m. to submit a written response to the show-cause notice. Journalists and anyone contacting me may come if they wish.” On the same day, he also shared a report from Prothom Alo and explained his position.
Notably, a report published on October 13 stated that Muntasir Mahmud worked as a Deputy Director at the Red Crescent, though his position there was temporary. For several days, he had been protesting against the chairman of the Red Crescent. Despite the NCP’s instructions not to, he protested there again on October 12. On that day, the Red Crescent’s board meeting decided to terminate his employment. Almost immediately afterward, he was also relieved from his position as the southern region organizer of the NCP. Several (1, 2, 3, 4) news reports were published regarding this.
Therefore, the claim that Muntasir Mahmud was removed over allegations of homosexuality is false. He was removed over alleged breach of party discipline.
