Bangladesh High Commission in India has strongly denied a report by India Today NE that claimed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was airlifted amid violent clashes in Dhaka.

The article, titled ‘Indian students flee Dhaka amid violent clashes, PM Sheikh Hasina airlifted’, on July 21 reported that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had been airlifted due to the violence in the country, with her whereabouts unknown. This article was also shared on India Today NE’s social media platforms.

Bangladesh HC in Delhi in response to the report sent a letter to India TodayNE, expressing 'strong' objections.

“A piece of news article titled ‘Indian students flee Dhaka amid violent clashes, PM Sheikh Hasina airlifted’, published online as well as a related X handle post of India Today NE on 21 July 2024, have caught the attention of the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi,” read the letter.

The report confirmed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was airlifted from her residence amidst chaos in Dhaka.

“Her (Hasina’s) current whereabouts remain unknown. Although both the article and the post were subsequently taken down within a few hours, the misinformation on the status of the Government of Bangladesh went viral within a short span of time and triggered huge confusion and anxiety among people at home and abroad,” read the report of India Today.

On behalf of High Commission, Minister (Press) Shaban Mahmood has expressed ‘sheer disappointment’ at the aforesaid erroneous article and post.

“As you are well aware, our country is going through a challenging time due to the ongoing student protests. This kind of misinformation and reporting based on rumour at the time of such critical moment of any country may misguide the people and even add fuel to the crisis and turn the situation into more chaotic. Moreover, such kind of reporting, without gauging the sensitivity, does not only affect the people and the society in large negatively, but also questions the credibility of any news outlet. We request all the news outlets, including the India Today NE, to remain vigil and ensure objective and balanced reporting taking account of the sensitivity of the issue,” read the letter to India Today NE.

While this report was published based on information from a confidential source that could not be immediately verified, it was subsequently removed from the website.