A video clip carrying the Republic news logo is circulating in which former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina is allegedly heard proposing merging East and West Bengal into one province and seeking PM Modi’s support.

Reverse image search traced the footage to Republic’s official X post (5 Aug 2026). In the original, Hasina discusses law-enforcement duties during unrest — there is no ‘United Bengal’ statement. Hive Moderation indicated ~91% probability the speech was AI-generated; Resemble AI also suggested AI manipulation.

Conclusion: Visuals are genuine, but the audio is AI-modified. The merger claim is false.