Old Video Of A Land Dispute In Sitakunda Going Viral Linking To The Communal Clash In Bangladesh.

Recently, a video of two men attacking three women went viral on social media, claiming it to be an attack on Hindu women by Muslims in Bangladesh. Sharing the video on Facebook, a user wrote, “বাংলাদেশের উগ্র মৌলবাদীরা প্রকাশ্যে হিন্দু নারীদের হত্যার চেষ্টা করছে!!Radical fundamentalists of Bangladesh are openly trying to kill Hindu women!!

#SaveBangladeshiHindus

#HinduGenocideInBangladesh…”

Facebook Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the video was old and shared with a missing context. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

At the beginning of our investigation, we noticed the name “প্রথম আলো” (Prothom Alo) in the 0.01 timestamp of the viral video. 

Prothom Alo is a popular Bangla Daily from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Taking this clue, we conducted a relevant keyword search in the Bengali language. This led us to a video similar to the viral video, uploaded on the YouTube channel of Prothom Alo on 3 June 2022. According to the report, two women were assaulted in Bashbariya, Sitakunda, in Bangladesh, over a fight regarding picking Java Plum. The victims were under treatment- the report said. 

Moving forward, we found a news report published in “Sangbad” on 4 June 2022. The report contained screenshots from the viral video. According to the report, “…The attackers are Touhidul Islam and Alamgir Hossain. They are the sons of Aminul Haque, an influential person in the area. On the other hand, the three women who were attacked are Rani Das (30), wife of Jogendra Das, Anjana Rani Das (32), wife of Milan Chandra Das, and Rima Rani Das (27), wife of Krishna Chandra Das. Rima Rani Das filed a case against Touhidul Islam (32), Alamgir Hossain (35) and Aminul Haque (55)…

The accused have been trying to occupy the land of the victims for a long time. The victim’s family claimed that although cases were filed against them at the Police Station, no action has been taken against the accused. On 2 June 2022, in the absence of the men, Touhidul and Alamgir again tried to occupy the land, which led to the incident shown in the viral video”.

Please read here. Archived Link.

We found a similar report in the Dhaka Tribune published on 4 June 2022. According to the report, the women were beaten up by the men over a land dispute. 

Please read here. 

Another report can be read here. 

This makes it clear that the viral video is old and not related to the current situation in Bangladesh.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is missing context. The video is old and not related to the current communal situation in Bangladesh. The video shows a clash between families over a land dispute.