Old video of a man roaming with a pistol on the streets of Bangladesh falsely linked to West Bengal

This is an old video from Bangladesh and it dates back to 2024.

Unrest broke out in Murshidabad in West Bengal during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act on 11 April. The law has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of some people and injuries to several others, with widespread property damage. Against this backdrop, a video of a man walking on the road with a pistol in his hand is going viral on social media. The users who share the post claims that the visuals are from West Bengal.

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Fact Check-

By performing a reverse image search with the key frames of the viral video led us to a YouTube video by Bangladesh-based outlet SOMOY TV uploaded by 17 July, 2024. It carried an extended version of the viral video stating that it is from the Quota Protest in Chattogram. This indicates that the viral video is not recent and unrelated to the recent protest in West Bengal.

In further search, we found several news reports regarding this incident from July 2024. As per the Bangladeshi news reports, “Clashes broke out between students protesting for quota reform and Chhatra League in Chittagong. A young man was seen holding a pistol during the clashes”.  

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As per the report by Prothom Alo from July dated July 2024, states that the protesters clashed with the Jubo League and Chhatra League leaders in Chittagong during agitation over quota reforms. While a man in the Muradpur area of Chittagong was walking around with a pistol and firing at the protesters. The man was identified as Feroz Alam,

Based on these evidences, we can say that the viral video of a man roaming with a pistol on the streets of Bangladesh is falsely shared as that of West Bengal.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. This is an old video from Bangladesh and it dates back to 2024.