On the night of December 25 last year, a fire broke out in Building No. 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat, one of the country's most significant government complexes. Following the incident, an official investigation was initiated alongside widespread public discussions and speculations. Recently, a short video was disseminated on the social media platform TikTok with the title "Two Coordinators Arrested in Secretariat Fire Incident."

The thumbnail of the video further claimed, "CCTV Footage Leaked! Arrested Coordinators," and "Demand for Trial of Coordinators – Rumin Farhana," along with statements suggesting that three coordinators had been identified in the CCTV footage. As of the publication of this report, the viral video on TikTok has received reactions from approximately 27,500 individual accounts and has been shared around 2,500 times. Observations from the comment section indicate that the majority of users supported the claims made in the video.

Fact-Check

An investigation conducted by the Rumor Scanner Team has revealed that the claim of two coordinators being arrested in connection with the fire incident is false. Moreover, there is no record of BNP leader and former Member of Parliament Rumin Farhana demanding the prosecution of the coordinators. The video in question was created by compiling and editing separate audio clips of various individuals without any factual basis.

Upon reviewing the viral video, the Rumor Scanner Team found no verifiable information regarding the arrest of the coordinators. Instead, the video includes statements made by BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Rumin Farhana.

The video begins with a four-second clip sourced from a report broadcast on December 27, 2024, by the YouTube channel of electronic media outlet Rtv, titled "Fire at Secretariat: CCTV Footage Collected." In this clip, a news presenter is seen reporting on the collection of CCTV footage related to the fire incident.

Further analysis through keyword searches traced a portion of Ruhul Kabir Rizvi's statement to a News24 YouTube video published on December 26, 2024, titled "Suspicion Arises After Sheikh Hasina's File Request: Rizvi." The audio segment from 00:08 to 00:19 seconds of the News24 video was used in the viral content, where Rizvi discusses the disappearance of files and the fire incident at the Secretariat.

Similarly, a keyword search of Rumin Farhana’s statement led to a video published on the Facebook page of Jamuna Television on December 27, 2024, titled "The Secretariat Fire Was a Cold-Blooded Planned Act: Rumin Farhana." The viral video used an audio segment from 05:08 to 05:30 seconds, where Farhana expressed her opinion that the fire was a premeditated act.

Additionally, footage from an Independent Television report titled "Secretariat Fire: What Noor Said About the Neighboring Country's Involvement," published on December 26, 2024, was used in the viral video. The clip from 00:24 to 00:28 seconds features Nurul Haque Noor, President of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, sharing his view that the fire resulted from an electrical short circuit.

Despite the viral video's claims, there was no mention of the arrest of any coordinators in the original media sources. The video also featured an image of student leader Hasib Al Islam and suggested that he was taken into custody following a Facebook Live appearance discussing the fire. However, subsequent verification shows that Hasib was seen speaking about quota-related issues in the medical admission test results published on January 19, refuting any claims of his arrest.

According to the preliminary report submitted to the Chief Adviser on December 31, the Secretariat fire was caused by an electrical "loose connection" near the staircase on the sixth floor of Building No. 7. CCTV footage from December 26 at 1:36 AM captured an electrical spark gradually igniting the fire.

No credible media reports or official sources have confirmed the arrest of any coordinators in connection with the fire incident.

Therefore, the circulated claims that "Two coordinators have been arrested in the Secretariat fire incident" and "Rumin Farhana has demanded their trial" are entirely false.

Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/fake-claim-of-arresting-two-july-coordinator-for-secretariat-fire/136220