On Wednesday, July 16, Gopalganj city’s Municipal Park and Launch Terminal area turned into a battlefield due to a day-long series of attacks, clashes, and vandalism centring around a rally organised by the National Citizen Party (NCP). At least 5 people have been killed so far in clashes between law enforcement and Awami League supporters. After the day-long conflict, the administration imposed a curfew in Gopalganj that evening. A joint force is conducting a special operation across the district to arrest the attackers.
In this context, a video has gone viral on social media claiming to show weapons being recovered by the Bangladesh Army and RAB in Gopalganj.
See some of the Facebook posts here: Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive)
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation reveals that this weapon recovery video is not from Gopalganj, and it is not recent either. In fact, the video is from an incident in August of last year, where weapons looted from Tongibari Police Station in Munshiganj were recovered by the army and handed over to the police.
In this investigation, a video was found in a post published on August 18 on the Facebook profile of journalist Shawkat Hossain, the Louhajang correspondent of the mainstream national daily Inqilab. The video matches the one currently being circulated.
According to the caption of the post, the video shows the moment when the army recovered the weapons looted from Tongibari Police Station in Munshiganj and handed them over to the police.
Following this lead, a search using relevant keywords reveals a report published the same day on the Ajkaler Khobor website. It states that on August 5 of last year, 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 the morning of August 18, at 10:30 AM, the army handed over these weapons, ammunition, and various looted equipment to the police at the District Circuit House. Among the recovered items were 140 different types of firearms—including rifles, pistols, and shotguns—and 3,934 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, around 109,500 BDT in cash and police uniforms were recovered. On the same day, the army also recovered 79 firearms and 3,891 rounds of ammunition looted from Tongibari Police Station and handed them over to the police.
The same information has also appeared in multiple media reports: Jugantor, Channel 24, Dhaka Mail
To further verify the matter, we contacted journalist Shawkat Hossain, who first posted the video on Facebook. He confirmed that the incident took place in Munshiganj in August of last year.
Conclusion
Therefore, the claim that weapons were recovered from Gopalganj in a joint force operation is completely false.
Army recovered these weapons from Gopalganj district last night. They were all hidden underground. Please share and let us know.
- Md Sowkat Hossan – Facebook Post
- Ajkaler Khobor – Recovery of Weapons Looted from Munshiganj Police Stations
- Md Sowkat Hossan – Statement
