Serious allegations have been raised by the Indian media outlet News18, indicating that over the past year, the encrypted messaging platform Telegram has become the primary hub for organizing and coordination among leaders and activists of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League. Between 20,000 to 30,000 members of the party reportedly participate in nightly marathon sessions, commencing around 9 PM (Indian Standard Time) and stretching well into the night.

Sources within the Awami League allegedly told News18 that even when Sheikh Hasina herself joins these virtual sessions, money reportedly changes hands to determine who is allowed to speak in her presence. These sources pointed the finger at Awami League’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader, who has made Telegram his main political platform, using it to deliver fiery speeches, including frequent calls to “surround Dhaka”. However, insiders have noted that these statements lack strategic clarity, operational direction, or defined timelines.

News18 further reports that Quader now personally schedules his speaking slots across various Telegram groups, a move interpreted by many as a sign of political desperation rather than strategic organization.

A senior Awami League figure, speaking to News18 on condition of anonymity, stated:

“Obaidul Quader is being increasingly rejected by grassroots party cadres. He is attempting to remain politically relevant by creating and dominating a multitude of Telegram groups – not for the party’s welfare, but rather to orchestrate an elaborate economic scam. The top leadership has received credible information that Quader has extorted significant sums from senior party leaders, Members of Parliament, and former ministers in exchange for access to virtual meetings with Sheikh Hasina”.

In this bombshell revelation, News18’s Associate Editor Anindya Banerjee claimed the situation may pose an even more serious threat to the Awami League’s core leadership – including Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad A. Arafat, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel – as well as Sheikh Hasina herself. Pro-Yunus elements, and even personnel from Bangladesh’s intelligence community, are believed to have infiltrated these Telegram groups.

“While the party has been actively combating infiltration by Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP activists, the emergence of intelligence operatives allegedly loyal to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is a first”, said an Awami League insider. “These infiltrators record private conversations, which are later used to identify and target participants. Arrests based on Telegram activity logs are already underway”.

This troubling development reveals a dangerous pattern of deep-state sabotage, where loyalists of Yunus and foreign-influenced actors are exploiting internal disarray to dismantle the party from within.

Meanwhile, allegations have surfaced against several key figures of the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) – an organization mired in scandal during the Awami League’s 15-year rule. These individuals have been accused of spreading misleading rumors and propaganda targeting critics of the illegitimate regime believed to be backed by Muhammad Yunus. Among them, Tonmoy Ahmed, a controversial figure, has come under particular scrutiny.

Tonmoy Ahmed, who gained notoriety for allegedly amassing millions through illicit means during the Awami League’s tenure, has been aggressively promoting himself as the “top aide” of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son. He reportedly boasts that both Sheikh Hasina and Joy operate under his direction, warning that anyone who defies him risks being “blacklisted” by the party leadership.

Following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster on August 5, 2024, the CRI swiftly deactivated its website and erased all video content from its YouTube channel. The website now displays a suspension notice due to copyright violations, signaling an effort to hide digital evidence.

Interestingly, CRI continues to present itself on LinkedIn as a “non-political, non-profit, non-government multi-disciplinary think tank” established in 2015, aimed at promoting inclusive development and policy advocacy in Bangladesh and other developing countries. However, insiders and whistleblowers now describe it as a front for political manipulation and economic exploitation.

According to a highly placed source who spoke to this writer on condition of anonymity, Tonmoy Ahmed harbors ambitions of securing a top post within Awami League, seeing Saima Wazed Putul, Sheikh Hasina’s daughter, as his principal rival. In a sinister bid to tarnish her family’s reputation, Tonmoy reportedly leaked private photographs and videos of a woman he claimed to be Hasina’s granddaughter Amrin Khandkar Semanti, alleging that she had married a Christian and renounced Islam.

These images and videos have since gone viral across social media, amplified by the cyber-regiment operated by Muhammad Yunus and rival political factions, aiming to discredit the family and sow religious discord within the party’s conservative support base.

The situation unfolding within the Awami League represents a perilous convergence of internal betrayal, digital subversion, and foreign-influenced psychological warfare. With senior party figures implicated in extortion, disinformation, and sabotage, and with intelligence infiltrators exploiting encrypted channels like Telegram, Bangladesh’s political stability stands at a critical juncture.

Please follow Blitz on Google News Channel

The post Telegram coup: How digital subversion and internal betrayal undermined Bangladesh’s Awami League and Sheikh Hasina appeared first on BLiTZ.

[Read More]

—–
Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings