Golam Rabbani Faces Backlash for Spreading Rumors About Police, Netizens Express Outrage

Rumors and the Awami League seem to go hand in hand, almost like two flowers on the same stem. The party’s leaders and activists have been outdoing even India’s renowned propagandist Mayukh Ranjan with their bizarre narratives. Since the fall of the Awami League, its banned affiliates, including Chhatra League and Jubo League, along with other armed cadres, have been relentlessly attempting to sow discord in the country while simultaneously spreading misinformation.

This time, former Chhatra League General Secretary Golam Rabbani has sparked controversy by disseminating baseless claims about Bangladesh Police personnel, propagating falsehoods on a global scale. He has also been accused of trying to create divisions within the law enforcement agencies. Today, Rabbani shared a list of police personnel on social media, captioning it, "In grief, we remember with respect. The cries, anguish, and tears of helpless families will not go in vain. Justice will be served, Inshallah."

The issue has drawn sharp criticism from Kadruddin Shishir, a former AFP fact-checker and prominent journalist. Sharing Rabbani’s post on social media, Shishir wrote, “These people are turning even human deaths into a laughingstock. Every police officer’s death, whether guilty or not, is tragic. Yet, they manage to make people laugh even while sharing news of these deaths. This is the state of their so-called big online activists and leaders!” Shishir further stated, “They spread fake news claiming 3,200 police officers were killed, but then share a list of 44 officers provided by the police themselves on Facebook! They even copied a few police officers’ photos and attached them to every name on the list. This means they don’t even have pictures of these 44 officers! The list of these 44 officers, who died while serving, was taken directly from the government’s list!” He concluded, “They don’t have a separate list of their own. They aren’t serious about these officers. They make all sorts of online promises to the families of the deceased police officers, but in reality, they don’t even know them! If they did, they would at least have a complete list and photos of all of them. And yet, they spread baseless claims about justice for 3,200 police killings! Where is the list of these 3,200? Why isn’t there a single name beyond the police’s official list?” Meanwhile, Rabbani’s post has triggered a wave of online trolling. In the comment section, Minhajul Abedin Joy wrote, “Where are the photos of the remaining 2,956?” SM Mizanur Rahman commented, “The grief of a fish’s mother.” Another user, Wasim Sayeed, remarked, “The image had space for 48 names, but after trying to match them, they enlarged four names to make it 44. Where are the 3,000 or, by some accounts, 5,000?”