Recently, Bangladeshi online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya, who resides in France, announced through his Facebook page that he would undergo surgery at a hospital. Following this, social media platforms circulated claims that Pinaki had passed away on the operating table. 

Fact-check

An investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that the claim regarding Pinaki Bhattacharya’s death is false. The misinformation was spread through a fake news report published on a free Blogspot domain without any credible evidence. A link to the alleged news article was shared in the comment sections of Facebook posts spreading the claim. Upon accessing the link, it was found that the site, named “Amar Desh,” was a free Blogspot domain. The report, titled "Pinaki Bhattacharya Dies During Surgery in a Hospital in France," was published on March 8. This article appears to be the primary source of the false claim. The site’s logo mimicked that of the national daily "Amar Desh," but no such report was found on the newspaper’s official website. 

According to the fake report, Pinaki underwent surgery on March 7, during which he allegedly encountered severe complications and died on the operating table. It further claimed that Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the head adviser of the interim government, expressed condolences over his death. However, an investigation into the matter revealed a post on Pinaki Bhattacharya’s official Facebook page after the surgery. The page’s admin stated that the surgery had been successfully completed, and Pinaki had been moved to his room, where he was recovering well. 

Thus, the claim of Pinaki Bhattacharya’s death is entirely false. Furthermore, there is no credible evidence from any reliable source to support the claim that Dr. Muhammad Yunus expressed condolences regarding his alleged death. Therefore, the news claiming that online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya has passed away is fabricated and baseless.

Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/pinaki-bhattacharya-death-rumor/142000