The involvement of Billal Hossain, father of Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, the interim government’s Local Government and Youth and Sports Adviser, in the construction business sparked widespread discussion and criticism. As a result, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) issued an order canceling his license. Recently, a video has been circulated on the social media platform Facebook, claiming that 1,200 bags of rice were found at Adviser Asif Mahmud’s house. The post further claims that when his father was questioned about this, he attempted to bribe the police to settle the matter.
In the circulated video, alongside police officers, an elderly bearded man can be seen. In the video, he is also heard saying various things to a woman regarding the bags of rice found at his house.
You can watch the circulated videos on Facebook:, Here (Archive), Here (Archive) and Here (Archive)
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner team’s investigation revealed that the claim of 1,200 bags of rice being found at Adviser Asif Mahmud’s house is not true. In reality, a video of rice being recovered from the house of a Union Parishad member in Chandpur’s Shahrasti Upazila has been circulated with the discussed claim.
By reverse-searching several key frames from the video, a matching video was discovered on Md. Jamal Hossain’s Facebook profile, posted on June 2. Jamal Hossain is the Finance Secretary of Shahrasti Press Club and a correspondent for Asian TV.
A review confirms the circulated video is identical to this one. The video description states it shows 16 sacks of food aid rice meant for the poor being recovered from the residence of the Ward 6 UP member (Krishnapur), under South Suchipara Union in Shahrasti. The raid was conducted late at night in the presence of Upazila Executive Officer and Executive Magistrate Nigar Sultana, and the UP member was arrested during the operation.
Based on the information received, a keyword search on the online media outlet bdnews24.com reveals a report published on June 2 titled “VGF Rice Found in Residence, UP Member Arrested” regarding the incident in Chandpur.
The report reveals that the name of the UP member is Md. Humayun Kabir. It is also mentioned in the report that he is a former general secretary of the Union Jubo League. Additionally, it is stated, quoting UNO Nigar Sultana, that Humayun Kabir received an allocation of 16 bags of Atap rice for distribution among the poor in his ward on the occasion of Eid.
In other words, the seizure in the discussed video has no connection to Adviser Asif Mahmud or his father. Moreover, not 1,200 bags, but 16 bags of rice were seized in the incident related to the discussed video.
Conclusion
Therefore, a video of rice being recovered from the house of a UP member in Chandpur is being circulated with the claim that 1,200 bags were found at Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan’s house and that his father attempted to bribe the police, which is false.
