The recently formed BJP-led government in West Bengal launched a massive, late-night anti-encroachment demolition drive outside Howrah Railway Station. The high-profile bulldozer operations targeted illegal encroachments and unauthorised constructions. Against this backdrop, a video of two little girls crying has gone viral on social media. The video is being shared with claims that they are sitting next to the rubble after their father’s shop was demolished in a bulldozer operation.
The caption states, “Father’s small food stall was the family’s sole means of support. Today, upon returning from school, his two young daughters broke down in tears as they watched that very stall being demolished at the station. Their tears were not merely for the loss of the shop but for the loss of their dreams as well.”
Let’s check the truth.
Fact check:
We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to similar footage uploaded on the X handle of the current Chief Minister, Subhendu Adhikari, on 28 June, 2024. The tweet states it as the incident of shop demolition in Bolpur. He wrote in the caption, “A house and a father’s shop have been demolished in Bolpur; two children have broken down in tears after returning from school due to the pain of losing all their belongings!!! This shop was located on Bolpur-Sriniketan Road”.
This indicates that the video is old and not related to the recent encroachment drive.
Embed
According to a news report published by News18 on 2 July 2024, the shop belonged to a person named Raju Das, who had been illegally operating it for the past 10 years. The land belonged to the government and was in front of a girls’ school in Bolpur. The administration demolished the shop in accordance with its protocol.
Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered strict action to remove all illegal constructions or encroachments on government land. Allegedly, Raju had been running his shop illegally on government land in front of the Girls’ School in Bolpur, Santiniketan, Birbhum, for about ten years. So, the administration demolished Raju Das’ shop in accordance with the rules.
This indicates that the video was captured during an illegal encroachment eviction drive in 2024 under the TMC government and is not related to any recent BJP-led eviction drives.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. The viral video is not related to the recent bulldozer operation. The video is from 2024, when an illegal shop demolition drive was carried out in front of Santiniketan Girls School in Bolpur during the Trinamool government.
Title: Old video of two young girls crying during an eviction drive in West Bengal under the Trinamool government falsely shared linking to recent bulldozer operation
Fact Check By: Usha Manoj
Result: Misleading
