A Facebook post published on May 1 at 5:08 PM from an account named ‘Anu Nu Marma’ sparked widespread discussion on social media. The post claimed, “My younger sister Akiu Marma was taken away two hours ago by members of the Burma army from Krokhyang Chakpara of Dochhari Union in Naikhongchhari. I have appealed to the army, but they are only ‘looking into it’ and taking no further steps. I urge the people of Naikhongchhari to stand with my family. Please share this and stay alert against Burmese terrorists.”

Within minutes, the post went viral through shares from Facebook accounts of several online activists affiliated with the ruling Awami League, including Sushanta Das Gupta, Nijhum Majumder, former Chhatra League General Secretary Golam Rabbani, Kazi Mamun, Talent Kanti Das, and actress Tarin. Just seven minutes after the original post, it was shared by a pro-Awami League account named Ryan Draper, which has 52 friends. The post rapidly spread across other platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and X.

Upon investigation, Rumor Scanner found the Facebook account ‘Anu Nu Marma’ to be unreliable. The account previously operated under the name ‘Shayan Chowdhury’. Analysis reveals the operator is likely Chowdhury Sujan from Agrabad in Chattogram. Earlier that day, before publishing the discussed post, several old posts about indigenous rights were edited and republished on the timeline. After speaking to local residents, law enforcement, elected representatives, and journalists, Rumor Scanner confirmed that the claim made in the post is false.

Scrutiny of the ‘Anu Nu Marma’ account shows it has only 52 friends, no cover photo, and no publicly visible personal images beyond a profile picture. Only two page likes are found on the account. These characteristics raise initial suspicion. The suspicion deepens after examining reactions to four to five public posts on the timeline: none came from accounts identifiable as indigenous, tribal, or hill community members. The absence of such engagement on a post allegedly made by a Marma woman adds to the doubt. Although active since at least 2021, reverse image search yielded no information about the woman in the profile picture.
Prior to the viral post, the account had five public timeline posts. One was related to mango photography and was later hidden or deleted. The remaining four were shared posts presenting indigenous identity or pro-indigenous positions. These four posts were edited between 1:15 PM and 1:28 PM on the same day to reflect a hill community perspective—an apparent effort to construct a tribal identity in advance of the main post. This suggests an intent to use the account for spreading targeted propaganda.

Further investigation uncovered an old blood donation appeal post from the same account in a Chattogram-based Facebook group. Comments confirmed that the account name at the time was ‘Sayan Chy’. Multiple users referred to this name in their replies. Clicking on the name now redirects to the ‘Anu Nu Marma’ account, confirming that the account belonged to a male user until at least last year.

As previously noted, several timeline edits were made to project a pro-tribal identity. Changing the account name appears to have been part of that strategy. Though the exact date of the name change could not be determined, the evidence suggests a deliberate attempt to assume the identity of a tribal woman. According to the account’s "About" section, the user’s name is Chowdhury Sujan, a male student from Agrabad, Chattogram. Despite the changed name and gender on the profile, older information in the "About" section remains.

The claim that the user’s younger sister was abducted by members of the Burma army from Krokhyang Chakpara in Dochhari Union, Naikhongchhari, prompted Rumor Scanner to conduct a keyword and advanced search to verify whether local residents, particularly from the mentioned area or community, had responded to the claim on social media. No such responses were found. Typically, if a crime of this nature occurred, it would provoke community concern, administrative attention, and social media activity. No such reactions were observed.

When contacted, Naikhongchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Muhammad Mazharul Islam Chowdhury informed Rumor Scanner, “We have no source to confirm the authenticity of this claim.”
Local journalist Sufal Chakma, who independently investigated the matter, also spoke to the UNO, other journalists, and former Chairman of Dochhari Union Md. Habib Ullah. He reported that none of them could validate the incident. Citing the former chairman, he said, “If something like this had happened in that neighborhood, I would have known. Nothing of this sort happened yesterday or in recent months.” The journalist confirmed that the claim is a rumor.

Naikhongchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Masrurul Haque also discussed the matter in detail with Rumor Scanner. He stated, “We have tried various means to investigate the matter, but have found no truth to the claim. We could not even identify anyone by that name in the area.” The OC added that he had spoken to a known Marma footballer from the area, who also confirmed that no such incident occurred.

Rumor Scanner found a post by Uchai Mong Marma, a former footballer and member of the Bandarban District Sports Association. He described the ‘Anu Nu Marma’ account's claim as fake, stating, “Yesterday, a Facebook account named Anu Nu Marma claimed that a Marma girl had been abducted from Krokhyang Chakpara by Arakan Burmese forces. This is entirely false. I spoke with villagers last night and confirmed that the news is fake.”

OC Masrurul Haque further noted that the area mentioned in the post is remote and predominantly inhabited by the Chak community. He also said that there is a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) camp in the area, not an army camp, and that the BGB confirmed no such incident occurred. Ultimately, the police declared the post false and a rumor.

A comment from local journalist U Sithoy Marma under the viral post stated, “This is most likely a fake account. Many have commented, yet no responses are given. We have repeatedly messaged to get details but received no answers. The place mentioned has no Marma neighborhood—only Chak people live there. There is no army camp, only a BGB camp. Also, the sister's name is written as ‘Akiu Marma’, which is not a real name. If she were truly her sister, the name would at least be accurate. In the end, this appears to be a fake account and a fake message.”

Rumor Scanner later spoke to permanent residents of Krokhyang, who also confirmed they had no knowledge of such an incident. In summary, no resident, official, representative, or local journalist could find any evidence to support the claim made by the ‘Anu Nu Marma’ account. Therefore, Rumor Scanner’s investigation concludes that the account is unreliable and that the claim of abduction by an armed group from Myanmar has no factual basis.

Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-story/anu-nu-marma-abduction-claim-investigation/148405