A dispute over the weight of onions sold at a grocery shop in Charfasson, Bhola, has led to allegations of “false and misleading” information being circulated on Facebook. In protest, Md Sumon, proprietor of Messrs Sumon Traders, held a press conference on Tuesday.

The press conference was organised by the Charfasson Bazar Business Association and held at the Charfasson Press Club at noon.

In a written statement, Md Sumon said he had been running a grocery business on Kaporpatty Road in Charfasson Bazar for a long time. He alleged that a video was posted on Facebook on September 21 containing “false and defamatory” information about his business. He claimed the video had damaged the reputation of his establishment and caused him business, family and social losses.

According to Sumon, he purchased 103 sacks of onions from Rajbari district on September 20. Another 150 sacks of onions for a neighbouring business, Messrs Ibrahim Store, were transported on the same truck.

Before receiving the consignment, his regular wholesale customer, Md Monir of Mahi Store, purchased five sacks of onions from him. Their accounts are generally settled at each market day through memorandums, he said.

Sumon said that before settling the accounts, Monir asked about the weight of the onions. After checking the consignment details, he told him that each sack contained 45 kilograms of onions.

He alleged that this incident was subsequently used by a person named Aminul to make a Facebook video, which was later circulated through various Facebook accounts.

Sumon also addressed allegations that his business opened product sacks, mixed inferior-quality goods with them and sold them to customers. He said that during transportation from distant markets, some sacks may occasionally become torn or damaged. In such cases, the products are transferred into intact sacks after arriving at the shop before being sold. He denied that lower-quality products were mixed with the goods.

Nazrul Islam Tipu, acting general secretary of the Charfasson Bazar Business Association, said that if a journalist has a report, it should be published through the media outlet where they work. He said directly posting videos from personal social media accounts in the name of news could confuse the public.

He added that Sumon’s shop sells a significant volume of products every day. If there had been regular complaints of underweight products or the sale of inferior goods, the business would have suffered reputational damage and could not have continued selling such a large volume of products, he claimed.

Yasin Aslami, general secretary of the Charfasson Bazar Grocery Traders Association, expressed similar views.

Md Ibrahim, proprietor of Ibrahim Brothers, said a similar consignment had also arrived at his shop. Initially, he assumed that each sack contained 50 kilograms of products. However, after opening the consignment, he found that the delivery documents specified 45 kilograms per sack.

In his view, the incident was not a case of fraud but rather a misunderstanding over the weight specified in the consignment documents.

Among those present at the press conference were acting president Abul Based Azad, acting general secretary Nazrul Islam Tipu and vice-president Haji Ruhul Amin Mia of the Charfasson Bazar Business Association; Abdus Sattar Mithu, president of the Charfasson Bazar Grocery Traders Association; General Secretary Yasin Aslami; and Md Ibrahim, proprietor of Ibrahim Brothers, along with other local traders.

Md Sumon, proprietor of Messrs Sumon Traders, urged Bhola-4 MP Nurul Islam Nayan to look into the matter and take necessary action.