Chinese nationals accused of filming impoverished neighbourhoods in Dhaka and falsely presenting the footage as scenes from India have significantly scaled down their activities following intensified surveillance by Bangladeshi law enforcement. The crackdown comes days after New Delhi raised concerns over the misuse of Bangladeshi territory to run a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at defaming India.
According to a report published on Thursday by the Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, Mohammad Khalid Mansur, Officer-in-Charge of Uttara West Police Station, said that the vloggers' activities have decreased after police and intelligence agencies began closely monitoring their movements.
How The Disinformation Campaign Operated In Dhaka
Bangladeshi media reports said that around 150 Chinese nationals were operating across Dhaka's Uttara and Tekpara areas, livestreaming footage of narrow lanes and low-income settlements onto Chinese social media platforms. During these broadcasts, the vloggers introduced the Bangladeshi localities as parts of New Delhi and made derogatory remarks about the living standards of the residents.
The creators routinely filmed locals' homes and daily routines, sometimes even entering residential premises, without informing the subjects where the videos were being uploaded or how they were being portrayed. Prothom Alo reported that over a hundred vloggers were producing such content daily without prior police oversight, and they had also hired local Bangladeshi citizens to assist their operations.
MEA Intervention
On November 10, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) urged Dhaka to take appropriate action against the individuals responsible for peddling false narratives to defame India.
After the diplomatic pushback, Bangladeshi authorities summoned the Chinese nationals to produce their passports and visas and questioned why they were undertaking such activities while visiting Bangladesh on tourist visas.
Police instructed them to leave Bangladesh once their permitted stay expires. However, it remains unclear whether authorities have launched a formal investigation or initiated action for alleged violations of visa conditions.
Local Residents Confirm Vloggers Have Disappeared
Residents stated they had not seen any Chinese nationals in Uttara and Tekpara for the past few days.
"I have been at home for two days due to illness. I have not seen any Chinese citizens coming," Md Selim, a resident of the Tekpara area, was quoted as saying.
Rickshaw puller Imamul Islam said that a bridge over a canal adjacent to Sector 12 in Uttara had previously served as a "hideout" for the Chinese vloggers.
"They would videotape our passengers and us day and night, but I haven't seen them for a while," he said.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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