Recently, a claim has spread on social media that BNP activists in Jessore beat a mentally disabled man to death for criticizing Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
See some of the Facebook posts shared here (archive) and here (archive).
Fact-check
An investigation by the Rumor Scanner Team found that the reason for beating Rafiqul Islam to death in Jessore was not because of any criticism of the Chief Advisor. Police have confirmed that there is no connection between the incident and BNP.
At the beginning of the investigation, it was found that one of the posts being circulated included a source link. Following that link led to a dubious website called bddigest.news. The article referenced from this dubious site was titled “BNP activists beat a mentally disabled man to death after he scolded the Yunus-government for stopping his allowance”. It claimed: “Around 11:00 AM on July 2, in Sonakur village of Hajirbag Union under Jhikargacha Upazila in Jessore, a mentally disabled man named Rafiqul Islam was beaten to death by 15–20 BNP party members, led by Sohag, the son of Upazila BNP senior vice-president Tamiz Uddin. He was accused of being a supporter of the Awami League. Rafiqul Islam (50), the deceased, was the son of the late Ismail Hossain from the same village. According to local sources, on Wednesday morning, BNP activists tied him to a tree in a place called Sonakur Doali Para and beat him in a mob assault. He died on the spot. A few days earlier, after failing to get his allowance, Rafiqul had criticized the interim government of Dr. Yunus, calling them ‘robbers.’ For this, local BNP cadres had threatened him, calling him an ally of the Awami League and vowing revenge. Jhikargacha Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Noor Mohammad Gazi said, ‘Preliminary information suggests the deceased Rafiqul Islam was mentally unstable. Legal action will be taken regarding the incident.’”
Following the photo included in the report, the Rumor Scanner Team conducted a further investigation. They found a report on the national media outlet Manob Kantha, published on July 3, titled “In protest of a machete attack in Jessore, a man was tied up and beaten to death!”. The photo in that report matched the one from the false claim.
According to the Manob Kantha report, on July 2, Jahar Ali (40), the son-in-law of Azgar Ali of Sonakur village under Hajirbag Union in Jhikargacha Upazila, was heading to Bankra market on a motorcycle. As he reached the tea shop in front of his father-in-law’s house, Rafiqul Islam, a neighbor, suddenly attacked him on the head with a machete. Locals, finding Jahar in critical condition, rushed him to the 250-bed General Hospital in Jessore. Following the attack, angry locals tied Rafiqul with a rope and beat him in a mob assault. He died on the spot.
Jhikargacha Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Noor Mohammad Gazi said: “Preliminary reports suggest Rafiqul Islam was a drug addict. After he attacked Jahar Ali with a machete, an enraged crowd beat him to death. Legal action will be taken.”
The same incident has been reported by Samakal, Ittefaq, Ajker Patrika, Jago News, and Janakantha.
To further verify the matter, the Rumor Scanner Team contacted the investigating officer of Jhikargacha Police Station. He stated that this was not a politically motivated incident and that the accounts provided by mainstream media reflect the actual event.
In conclusion, there is no connection between the murder of Rafiqul Islam (50) and any criticism of the Chief Advisor or any involvement of BNP.
Additionally, keyword searches did not return any credible information supporting the claim.
Therefore, the claim that BNP activists beat a mentally disabled man to death in Jessore for criticizing Dr. Muhammad Yunus is false.
Sources
- bddigest.news – Website
- bddigest.news – “BNP activists beat a mentally disabled man to death after scolding the Yunus-government for stopping allowance”
- Manob Kantha – “In protest of a machete attack in Jessore, a man was tied up and beaten to death!”
- Local Thana Investigative Officer’s Statement
