Several media outlets in Bangladesh have published reports about the arrest of a retired army officer named Lt Col Debasish, incorrectly identifying him as retired Brigadier General Debashish Kumar Barua and using the latter's photograph, according to a fact-check published by Rumor Scanner on Tuesday.

The fact-check found that photographs of two different individuals had been circulated in reports about the arrest of retired Lieutenant Colonel Debasish.

Rumor Scanner traced one of the photographs used in the reports to Brigadier General Debashish Kumar Barua (retd), who is a different person from the arrested lieutenant colonel.

The photograph of the retired brigadier general was wrongly presented as an image of the arrested officer, creating confusion over his identity and military rank.

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested two retired army officers during operations in the capital on the night of October 11 and in the early hours of October 12.

The arrested individuals were identified in reports citing case documents and police information as retired Lieutenant Colonel Debasish and retired Lieutenant Kazi Gulshan Ara.

The allegations against them include anti-state activities and circulation of provocative digital content and alleged links to the financing of banned organisations.

These are allegations made by investigators and do not constitute proof of guilt.

According to Rumor Scanner, DMP spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner of Media and Public Relations Md Aktar Hossain said the two arrested individuals held the ranks of lieutenant colonel and lieutenant, respectively-not brigadier general.