Viktor Krylova & Charu Bakshi: At first glance, the man in the picture above appears to be in a well-organized room. However, a closer look reveals a more surprising story. This is Shahidul Hasan Khokon, the Dhaka Bureau Chief for several Indian media outlets and a member of the Awami League's Sub-Committee on International Affairs for the 2022–2025 term._x000D_ _x000D_ What raised eyebrows was the absence of any photograph of Sheikh Hasina, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, on the wall behind him. At the same time, a photo of Indira Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, was prominently displayed. At that time, the Awami League was in power, and Khokon held a leadership role within the party. An investigation by Bangladesh Media Monitor, which included interviews with several of Khokon's former colleagues, revealed that many were reluctant to speak openly about him. One former colleague stated, "This man is dangerous. He has some unseen close ties with India. If we say too much, we could be in trouble. He knows all of us and would find out."_x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Additional investigations uncovered multiple concerning details about Khokon's activities. On October 7, 2022, the newspaper Prothom Alo published a report involving Sultana Kamal, who claimed that India Today had misrepresented her comments on disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh. The individual responsible for this misrepresentation was identified as Khokon, then the Dhaka Bureau Chief for India Today._x000D_ _x000D_ Khokon has been repeatedly accused of distorting Bangladesh-related news for India Today and other media outlets such as Aaj Tak and Kolkata TV. Reports suggest he was behind several controversial stories in the Indian media, particularly those concerning attacks on minorities and other false narratives about Bangladesh._x000D_ _x000D_ A former colleague who worked with Khokon for a long time told Bangladesh Media Monitor, "Whenever Indian media asked for such news, Khokon would gather old footage from YouTube and cobble together stories to send them. Sometimes, he would even create such stories on his own." The colleague also claimed that Khokon fabricated stories at the request of the Awami League's Centre for Research and Information (CRI)._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ There are also allegations that Khokon often published articles under his name that were written by others in India. For example, an article on Tablighi Jamaat during the COVID-19 pandemic was reportedly published under his name, despite him not being the author._x000D_ _x000D_ Khokon's deep connections with India manifest in other ways, too. He served as a Director at the Center for Bangladesh-India Relations. A journalist who worked with Khokon noted, "I don't know exactly what the organization did, but Khokon was creating a joint database with India and Bangladesh. He never told us more than that."_x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Since August 5, Khokon has gone into hiding. Attempts to contact him via phone have been unsuccessful. Although he briefly reactivated his Facebook account, he has since deactivated it again. However, his presence remains on other social media platforms. On X, he appears to have maintained a good relationship with Ashna Habib Bhavna, a prominent member of the Awami League's "Alo Ashbe" WhatsApp group, and reportedly facilitated her writing for India Today. He frequently posted photos with important Indian figures and made posts about them. Khokon also appears to be associated with a company called SHK Engineering and Consulting._x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ _x000D_ Despite being in hiding, one of Khokon's close associates disclosed that he is behind the false news circulating in India since August 5. Allegedly, he has been providing contact numbers of his close journalist friends in Dhaka to Indian media and advising them to hire these journalists in exchange for money. These journalists are then reportedly used to spread false news stories in various places.