Staff Reporter :
The Chief Advisor’s Press Wing has categorically dismissed a report published by India’s Zee News titled ‘DNA Exclusive: Analysing Mohammad Yunus’s Alleged Operation Octopus in Bangladesh’ as completely false and fabricated.
The Press Wing stated that the report is part of a well-known campaign by sections of the Indian media to discredit Bangladesh’s interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus.
“We categorically deny every aspect of the story and urge everyone not to pay attention to such propaganda, which is clearly designed to destabilise Bangladesh,” the statement read.
The statement also highlighted that, shortly after assuming leadership of the interim government, Professor Yunus invited Indian media representatives to visit Bangladesh and report directly from the ground. However, despite this open invitation, some prominent Indian media outlets failed to respond and instead continued to publish fabricated stories, often citing unnamed sources.
Meanwhile, fact-checking organisation Rumor Scanner has debunked claims made by Indian media suggesting that Pakistani armed forces are patrolling Bangladesh.
In an investigation published on Tuesday, Rumor Scanner found that a video used in a news report by Aaj Tak Bangla, a Kolkata-based media outlet, misrepresented the presence of a specialised unit of the Bangladesh Police, the Crisis Response Team (CRT), as Pakistani armed forces.
The report detailed that the video, which has been circulating on social media, falsely claimed that Pakistani special forces had entered the premises of Rajshahi Metropolitan Magistrate Court-1. Some Indian media outlets further misreported the footage as showing Pakistani soldiers patrolling the streets of Dhaka.
A Bangladeshi lawyer, Nijhum Majumdar, was featured in the video stating: “It seems unprecedented to me that Pakistani armies would appear on the streets of Dhaka, disguised as SWAT or Punjab Regiment soldiers.”
However, Rumor Scanner verified that the individuals in the video were members of the Bangladesh Police’s Crisis Response Team.
These personnel were providing security during the court appearance of Asaduzzaman Asad, a former MP and Awami League leader, on 12 December.
Upon reviewing the footage, Rumor Scanner noted the letters CRT on the back of one officer’s uniform and a visible Bangladesh flag on another officer’s attire. This evidence confirmed that the individuals were Bangladeshi law enforcement officers, not members of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on 5 August following a mass uprising, some Indian media outlets have been accused of spreading propaganda to undermine the interim government led by Professor Yunus.
Independent fact-checking bodies and investigations, such as those conducted by Rumor Scanner, have since disproved many of these claims, highlighting the lack of credibility in the reports circulated by Indian media.
