A video purportedly showing Saidur Rahman, president of the Gopinathpur union BNP in Joypurhat’s Akkelpur upazila, “using yaba” spread on social media on Tuesday, drawing widespread discussion and criticism in the area. The upazila BNP has decided to issue him a show-cause notice and form an inquiry committee, party leaders said.
Rahman, expressing regret over what he called an unwanted mistake, said political rivals had made him use yaba in a planned way.
In the viral 51-second video, a man is seen in a room at the Gopinathpur market office, in the presence of several people, taking a substance through a pipe using a device heated by fire. After the video spread, many local residents claimed the man in it was union BNP president Saidur Rahman and that he was using yaba. It could not be confirmed when the video was recorded or the identities of the others present.
The incident has also drawn reactions from local BNP leaders and activists. Rafiqul Islam, general secretary of the Gopinathpur union BNP, said he had heard that a video of the president using yaba had spread on social media. If the allegation proved true, it would be very embarrassing for the party, he said, adding that the image of the party would be damaged if a responsible leader was involved with drugs, and that appropriate organizational action should be taken through a proper inquiry.
Saidur Rahman, claiming to be the man in the video himself, acknowledged the incident. He said that, ahead of the union parishad election, political rivals took him in a planned way to the market office and made him use yaba, and that he did not realize what was happening at the time. Describing it as an unwanted incident, he expressed regret over his mistake.
Kamruzzaman Kamal, president of the Akkelpur upazila BNP, said the video spreading on social media was being viewed seriously. Whether the video had been technically doctored or made using artificial intelligence (AI) would also be examined, he said. A show-cause notice would be issued to the leader concerned and an inquiry committee was being formed, he said, adding that organizational action would be taken under the party constitution if the allegation proved true. The party would not take responsibility for any activity that tarnished its image, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report