A claim circulating on social media alleges that Hasnat Abdullah, the coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, was arrested by the army on Thursday evening (January 2). A Facebook user, Nakib Ashraf, posted that Hasnat was detained at 6 PM, taken to Dhaka Cantonment, and released five hours later. According to Nakib, a team led by Dr. Asif Nazrul, including four advisors and three pro-Jamaat professors from Dhaka University, pleaded with the army chief for Hasnat’s release. The post further alleges that Hasnat was stripped, beaten with sticks, and kept face down on the floor for two hours before being released. A similar claim was shared using a fake photocard styled after Desh TV.

Fact-Check
Rumour Scanner’s investigation reveals the claim is false. At the time of the alleged arrest, Hasnat Abdullah was in Debidwar, Comilla, attending an event. He had been in Comilla since the morning of January 2.
Further investigation showed that some Facebook posts about the claim cited a blog post from a dubious site, sadhinbangladeshnews247.blogspot.com, hosted on a free domain. The blog reported that Hasnat Abdullah was arrested in a special operation by the army at a private residence in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, during a meeting. The blog also claimed that his arrest triggered outrage among activists, with another coordinator, Sarjis Alam, reportedly declaring that “this unjust arrest will not deter us” and threatening to launch a larger movement for his release.

However, a keyword search of mainstream news outlets, including Prothom Alo, revealed that Hasnat Abdullah was present as the chief guest at a meeting organized by the National Citizens’ Committee at a restaurant in Debidwar, Comilla, that evening. Earlier that day, he attended a farewell event for retired teachers at Debidwar Government Reyaz Uddin Pilot Model High School, where he delivered a speech. Photos and videos from these events, verified by Rumor Scanner, were published by local outlets such as CumillarKagoj and its YouTube channel.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed to Rumor Scanner that there was no truth to the claim of Hasnat’s arrest. Additionally, Desh TV’s Facebook page and website contained no reports or photocards related to this claim. However, a post on Desh TV’s Facebook page earlier that morning mentioned that Hasnat Abdullah’s Facebook ID was inactive. The post appears to have been manipulated, replacing “inactive” with “in army custody” to create fake content.Reliable sources and mainstream media found no evidence supporting Hasnat Abdullah’s alleged arrest or SarjisAlam’s purported reaction.

Conclusion
The claim that Hasnat Abdullah was arrested by the army is entirely false. At the time of the supposed incident, he was in Debidwar, Comilla, attending scheduled events. No credible evidence supports the social media posts or the manipulated photocard.

Original News Link: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/hasnat-abdullah-arrest/133416