A photograph of a police officer holding a student’s mouth shut has gone viral on social media.
Prothom Alo has confirmed the identity of the student in the image as Rafid Zaman Khan, a third-year Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) student at the Sher-e-Bangla Hall of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Speaking to Prothom Alo over the phone late on Thursday night, Rafid said that a police officer grabbed him from behind, covered his mouth and pushed him to the ground.
After reviewing video footage of the incident, he confirmed that the person who knocked him down was deputy commissioner (DC) Masud Alam.
Rafid added, “After being thrown to the ground, I was treated in a very unprofessional manner. They kicked me with their boots, beat me, and at one point a police officer struck me on the head with a helmet.”
On Wednesday, police fired sound grenades, tear gas shells and opened water cannons at protesting engineering students in front of the Hotel InterContinental, as they marched towards the chief adviser’s residence, Jamuna.
The situation escalated into baton charges. During the clash, a photo showing Masud Alam, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in Ramna division pressing down on a student’s mouth spread widely on social media and was published by multiple news outlets.
However, in a statement signed by Mohammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division, the DMP claimed on Thursday that the image of DC Masud Alam holding a student’s mouth shut had been created using AI technology and did not depict reality. The claim was published on the ‘DMP News’ website as well.
Fact-checking organisation ‘Rumour Scanner’, however, reported on its website that the photo showing DC Masud Alam holding a protester’s mouth shut was not AI-generated. They concluded that it was in fact a genuine image, which DMP circulated as AI-generated.
Fact-checking organisation ‘Rumour Scanner’, however, reported on its website that the photo was not AI-generated. They concluded that it was in fact a genuine image, which DMP attempted to dismiss as AI-generated.
Similarly, fact-checking platform ‘Dismislab’ published a report on their website today stating that the photo of the BUET student being restrained was not produced using AI.
Confirming his identity Rafid told Prothom Alo, “The student in that photograph is me. There is no way this is AI-generated.”
Describing the events, Rafid said that upon reaching Hotel InterContinental intersection on the day of the protest, he had decided not to advance further.
He said, “We didn’t want any confrontation with the police. That’s why I sat down on the road so that police wouldn’t think we were in an attacking position.”
He continued, “At one point, the police fired tear gas shells. One landed a short distance behind where I was. Soon after, they began firing sound grenades as well. When the tear gas shells burst, many of the protesters retreated while those at the front were trapped. That’s when police started charging baton.”
Rafid added, “I was caught in that situation. I had become somewhat disoriented, and then I realised that I was being beaten continuously, mostly from behind.”
Following the assault on engineering students, DMP Commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjat Ali approached protesting students at Shahbagh intersection on Wednesday night to apologise and assured them that a committee would be formed to take necessary action.