DHAKA, August 21, 2025 (BSS) - A deliberate attempt to spread 'misleading disinformation' using an old statement of Professor Dr Asif Nazrul was recently detected by BanglaFact, the fact-checking and media research unit of the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB). 

It has uncovered the false claim highlighting a protest speech delivered by Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul in 2024, following the martyrdom of Abu Sayeed in a police shooting during the mass uprising.

BanglaFact reported that Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul did not call for the resignation of the Home Affairs Adviser, rather asked the then fascist Home Minister of the Awami League regime, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, to step down.

According to the BanglaFact investigation team, a video during the July mass uprising of 2024, in which Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul called for the resignation of then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal over the killing of Abu Sayeed in police firing, is now being circulated online claiming that he demanded the resignation of Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, which is false.

BanglaFact mentioned that a video claiming that Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul has demanded the resignation of Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury is recently being spread online.

BanglaFact has verified that Asif Nazrul did not demand the resignation of Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. 

The footage in question is from July 16, 2024, during the uprising, when Dr. Asif Nazrul publicly demanded the resignation of then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. His statement came in response to the killing of Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University and a coordinator of the movement, who was shot dead by police during the protests.

BanglaFact said that upon conducting a reverse image search, it found that the visuals match footage featured in a report published on July 18, 2024, by the YouTube channel of the media outlet News24. This confirms that the images are not recent, contrary to claims circulating online.

According to the report, on July 16, 2024, during the July uprising, in response to the death of student Abu Sayeed in police shooting, Asif Nazrul on that very day demanded exemplary punishment for the police officer involved and the resignation of the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. 

In his statement, Asif Nazrul said, "I do not only want punishment for that police officer, I also want the resignation of this Home Minister." 

He said, "If he has any shame, if he has even a shred of the spirit of the Liberation War, I want to ask him, was this the spirit of the Liberation War? What did he do in 1971? He tries to cover up his guilt by pretending to be a super freedom fighter." 

He added, "I have only one question for him, do you understand the spirit of the Liberation War? Are you educated? Why is that boy not being arrested after such an incident, why is that police officer not being arrested? The way Abu Sayeed was killed is a cold-blooded murder; it is homicide." 

He continued: "It is a capital crime. According to our police law, you can only use as much force as needed for your own protection. Abu Sayeed did not try to harm anyone, he had no weapon. He was just standing there. In such a situation, the way he was shot and killed is a barbaric act." 

"A state's force shooting a student like this - we have had to witness it. I do not only want that police officer's punishment, I want the resignation of this Home Minister," he said.

BanglaFact reported that the same information can be found in a report published in the Daily Ittefaq on July 18, 2024. 

Moreover, no credible media outlet or relevant reliable source has found any truth to the claim that Law Adviser Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul demanded the resignation of Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

What is being spread online is fake and false, said BanglaFact.

BanglaFact is working to counter rumors, fake news, and misinformation circulating in Bangladesh and is committed to delivering accurate information to the public.