Claim of a Massacre at Shapla Chattar on 5 May 2013 Is False: BBC Journalist

Описание: For a long time, BNP–Jamaat and a section of NGO-backed civil society members described the police operation on May 5, 2013, during the Awami League government against an Islamist procession as the “Shapla Massacre.” If Yunus had formed any so-called independent commission, he would have done so only to reinforce that narrative—just as he did with the BDR mutiny. In the name of investigation, he produced a false account and strengthened the propaganda that had been spread by the Awami League’s opposition, the Islamist forces.

Regarding the so-called “Shapla Massacre,” the renowned journalist Sabir Mustafa recently exposed the truth in an interview. Sabir Mustafa clearly stated that they maintained a strict distinction between news reporting and news analysis. He went on to say that their intention was to report only the news whose authenticity they could verify, because accuracy is a major responsibility for them. He emphasized that their priority was objective reporting.

He then made several important points about the Shapla Chattar incident, which many—including government sources—label as the “Shapla massacre.” Sabir Mustafa asked a central question: Was there really a massacre?

He said he asked Human Rights Watch and Odhikar to identify anyone from their lists who was killed during the midnight police operation. They could not name a single person.

He noted that BBC correspondent Qadir Kallol was at Shapla Chattar from midnight to 4 a.m., and he remained in constant contact with him from London. While social media was circulating claims of hundreds of deaths, removed bodies, and washed streets, Kallol consistently reported seeing no live firing, no bodies, no bullet marks, and no bloodstains. He had been present even before the operation began.

Sabir Mustafa said multiple reporters and TV cameras were on the ground, and none witnessed any deaths during the operation. Yet many still call it a “massacre.”

He concluded: “We are the BBC. We report only what we can verify. Whoever says BBC Bangla hid the truth—I don’t care. We know what actually happened at Shapla Chattar that night.”