Recently, after completing his visit to the Central African Republic, Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman returned to the country on March 6. Following this, Indian media and social media platforms have claimed that upon his return, the Army Chief did not land at Dhaka’s Shahjalal Airport but instead landed at Tejgaon Airport. Additionally, it is being claimed that there was an attempted coup within the Bangladesh Army. The reports allege that Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman and 11 other army officers were involved in this attempt.
See reports on this claim from Indian media outlets: Aaj Tak Bangla (YouTube), Aaj Tak Bangla, Economic Times, India Today, Times Now.
See Facebook posts making the same claim here (archive), here (archive), here (archive).
See posts shared on X here (archive).
Fact-Check
Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that the claim regarding a military coup in the Bangladesh Army is false. The widely circulated claim, which first spread on social media and was later picked up by Indian media, is completely fabricated. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also confirmed to Rumor Scanner that the claim is baseless.
During the investigation, Rumor Scanner traced the origins of these claims. Observations indicate that the rumors started circulating on Facebook the day after the Army Chief’s return. The claim stated that “he arrived in Dhaka 5-6 hours earlier than scheduled and, instead of landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the aircraft carrying him landed at Tejgaon Airport.”
The earliest known post regarding this claim was made from a Facebook account named ‘হাওলাদার আব্দুর রশিদ’ (Hawlader Abdur Rashid) on March 7 at 9:47 PM.
The claim regarding Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman appears to have originated from X (formerly Twitter). On March 9, an account named ‘Nepal Correspondence’ posted the claim under the headline: ‘𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍: 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐇 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐘’
The ‘Nepal Correspondence’ account has a history of spreading misleading and propagandist information regarding Bangladesh.
This means that the claims first emerged on social media. After analyzing these posts, Rumor Scanner found no supporting evidence or credible sources.
Later, among Indian media outlets, Aaj Tak Bangla was the first to report a similar claim at 8:30 AM on March 10. Following this, other Indian media outlets also published reports on the issue.
On March 10, the Economic Times published a report titled: “Bangladesh Army coup plot thickens as pro-Pakistan Lt General put under surveillance.”
The article claimed: “A faction of the Bangladesh Army, led by Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman, attempted to replace the current Army Chief, General Waqar-uz-Zaman. Rahman called a meeting to gauge support for the coup, but attendance was limited. Military intelligence is now monitoring him, and political instability could worsen. Several senior army officers are reportedly involved.”
The Economic Times report was authored by Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, an Indian journalist with a track record of publishing misleading and propagandist reports about Bangladesh. He has previously been involved in spreading false narratives, including an attempt to falsely associate Advisor Mahfuj Alam with the banned organization Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Additionally, the same media outlet had previously published another report on the same topic on January 26, titled: “Speculation rife over coup against Bangladesh army chief”
During the investigation, Rumor Scanner found no reports on this issue in any Bangladeshi media outlets. To verify the claim, Rumor Scanner contacted the Director of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) last evening. He confirmed that he accompanied the Army Chief on his visit to the Central African Republic, and their aircraft landed at Shahjalal International Airport on March 6—not Tejgaon Airport.
The ISPR also dismissed the allegations regarding Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman’s involvement in a coup attempt and claims of his removal as completely false.
Later that night, ISPR sent an official rejoinder to Rumor Scanner, which was also posted on the Bangladesh Army’s official Facebook page.
Titled ‘Rejoinder: Response to False Reports on Bangladesh Army by Certain Media Outlets from India,’ the statement read:
“The Bangladesh Army has noted with deep concern the recent spate of baseless and unfounded reports published by certain Indian media outlets, including The Economic Times and The India Today, alleging the possibility of a coup and a breakdown in the command chain within the Bangladesh Army. These reports are entirely false and appear to be part of a deliberate disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the stability and reputation of Bangladesh and its armed forces.”
Conclusion
Thus, the Indian media reports on an alleged ‘failed coup’ in the Bangladesh Army are entirely false.
Sources
- Statement from ISPR
- Rumor Scanner’s own investigation
