Dhaka:Reports from several media outlets in Bangladesh have incorrectly identified an arrested retired army officer, Lt Col Debasish, as retired Brigadier General Debashish Kumar Barua. This misidentification included the use of the latter's photograph.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, a fact-check by Rumor Scanner revealed that images of two different individuals were circulated in connection with the arrest of retired Lieutenant Colonel Debasish. One of these images was traced back to Brigadier General Debashish Kumar Barua (retd), who is not the same person as the arrested officer.
The confusion arose when the photograph of the retired brigadier general was wrongly presented as that of the lieutenant colonel, leading to misinformation about his identity and military rank.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch arrested two retired army officers, including retired Lieutenant Colonel Debasish and retired Lieutenant Kazi Gulshan Ara, during operations on the night of October 11 and early on October 12. The allegations against them involve anti-state activities, the distribution of provocative digital content, and connections to the financing of banned organizations.
It is important to note that these are allegations by investigators and do not constitute proof of guilt. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner of Media and Public Relations Md Aktar Hossain, clarified that the arrested individuals held the ranks of lieutenant colonel and lieutenant, respectively, and not brigadier general.