Video of a candlelight vigil from Bangladesh falsely shared as a protest against the RG Kar incident in Kolkata.

Residents in West Bengal's Kolkata turned off lights for an hour from 9 pm on 4 September and scores of people, many women, hit the streets with burning candles as part of the Reclaim the Night campaign to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Against this backdrop, a video showing a drone shot of a massive candlelight protest during nighttime is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows protests in West Bengal related to the R.G. Kar case demanding justice for the deceased.

The caption of the post states that “THIS IS KOLKATA AND THIS PROTEST LAST NIGHT HAS CREATED HISTORY .The people of entire Kolkata took to the streets .It is impossible to stop this movement until Tilottama gets justice”.

Let’s check the viral post-

Facebook Post

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by conducting a keyword and reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a similar video uploaded on YouTube on 9 August, 2024 with a caption "Candle lights in Uttara A Tribute to the Martyrs, We love you, 9 August 2024." This indicates that the viral video is not recent.

Using these hints, searching further, we came across the same video was posted on Facebook on 9 August, 2024, with the caption, “Candlelight vigil Uttara”, by a Facebook user named Tamzid Islam Zihan, he posted the same video on his Instagram account also. In his Facebook bio, Zihan identified himself as a drone photographer.

Moving forward, we found that the Rajuk College Photography Club posted on Facebook on 8 August to announce an event on 9 August at the Uttara Friends Club Field in Sector 3, Dhaka. According to the post, the gathering would honor those killed in the quota protests with a candlelight vigil.

For further clarification, we contacted Tamzid Islam Zihan and he confirmed to us that, “The video was recorded by me and it was taken on 9 August at sector-3 play ground Uttara, Dhaka. For paying tribute to the martyrs who gave their life for getting victory and which I filmed using my drone”.

Bangladesh-based media outlets NTV News and My Tv Bangladesh reported on the candlelight tribute held at the Uttara Friends Club field, with footage of people gathered on August 9 evening. These videos, similar to those from the photography club, confirm the venue as the Friends Club field in Uttara.

So, it is clear that the viral video shows a candle light vigil held in Bangladesh, not a protest at Kolkata. Moreover, the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital was first reported on 9 August only confirming that the video was not linked to the protests that arose after the case.

Conclusion-

Fact crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This viral video shows a candle light vigil held in memory of those who died in the Bangladesh unrest.