Recently, a video of a table filled with weapons has gone viral on social media. Some posts sharing this video claim that it shows weapons recovered by the army from the room of the Shibir president of Nawab Abdul Latif Hall at Rajshahi University. Other posts claim that these weapons were recovered from the room of the Student Front president.
See the Facebook posts circulating the claim of weapon recovery from the Shibir president’s room here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive).
See the posts circulating the same claim on X here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive).
See the Facebook posts circulating the claim of weapon recovery from the Student Front president’s room here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive), here (Archive).
Additionally, see the claim by Indian media outlet TV Nine, asserting that this is a video of weapon recovery from Rajshahi University, here.
Fact-Check
According to an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team, the claim that weapons were recovered from the room of the Student Front or Shibir president at Nawab Abdul Latif Hall of Rajshahi University is false. In reality, the viral video relates to an old incident from last August when weapons looted from the Tongibari police station in Munshiganj were recovered by the army and handed over to the police.
Further investigation led to a post published on August 18 on the Facebook profile of Showkat Hossain, the Louhajang correspondent of the Daily Inqilab, where the same video was found (here). According to the caption of the post, the video depicts the recovery and handover of weapons looted from Tongibari police station in Munshiganj by the army.
A report published the same day in Ajkaler Khobor (here) states that on August 5, following the fall of the government, a large number of weapons looted from Munshiganj Sadar police station and the traffic police office were recovered. On August 18, at 10:30 AM, these recovered weapons, along with various looted items, were handed over to the police by the army at the district circuit house. The recovered weapons and ammunition included 140 firearms of various types, including rifles, pistols, and shotguns, along with 3,934 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, cash amounting to approximately 109,500 takas and police uniforms were recovered. On the same day, 79 firearms and 3,891 rounds of ammunition looted from Tongibari police station were also recovered and handed over to the police by the army.
Multiple news reports confirm this information (1, 2, 3).
To further verify the matter, we contacted journalist Showkat Hossain, who first posted the video on Facebook. He confirmed that the information in his caption is correct.
Moreover, a report published yesterday (August 7) in Samakal (here) stated that the claim of weapon recovery from the Shibir president’s room at Rajshahi University’s Nawab Abdul Latif Hall is a rumor, as confirmed by the university’s proctor, Professor Mahbubur Rahman.
Conclusion
The claim of weapon recovery from the rooms of the Student Front and Shibir presidents at Rajshahi University’s Nawab Abdul Latif Hall is false.
Sources
- Md Sowkat Hossan: Facebook Post
- Ajkaler Khobor: Recovery of Looted Weapons from Munshiganj’s Police Stations
- Samakal: Claim of Weapon Recovery from Shibir President’s Room in Rabi is a ‘Rumor’
