The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal began on 04 November 2025. In this context, a video is being circulated on social media (here, here, and here) with the claim that it shows a mass exodus of illegal Bangladeshis leaving the state following the Election Commission’s announcement of the SIR. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: The video shows illegal Bangladeshis leaving West Bengal after the SIR announcement.
Fact: The viral video does not show illegal Bangladeshis leaving West Bengal after the SIR announcement. It actually captures the Kali idol immersion at Funkatala village (Shikarpur) in Nadia district on the banks of the Mathabhanga River. Local police confirmed the video’s location, and West Bengal Police also stated that the viral claim is fake. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the key frames from the viral video led us to a Facebook livestream by a user named Neha Mondal, posted on 30 October 2025. In the video, she can be heard saying that she has come to Shikarpur to watch an immersion.
Upon comparing both videos, we found that the location in the woman’s Facebook livestream matches the location seen in the viral video. The comparison between the viral video and the livestream is shown below:
Alt News contacted Neha Mondal, who said the people seen in the video were heading to witness the immersion of the Kali idol in the Mathabhanga River. Our search also showed that Shikarpur is a village under the Murutia police station area in the Karimpur II CD block of Nadia district, West Bengal. The village is known for its Kali Puja held at Funkatala, a locality that attracts thousands of visitors every year — not just locals but people from distant areas as well. Mathabhanga is a transboundary river that originates from the Padma in Bangladesh and enters India at Gede in Nadia district, following which it bifurcates into Ichhamati and Churni. At Murutia, the river runs along the International Border
To verify the viral video, we contacted the Murutia police station in charge, SI Nirmalya Dutta. He confirmed it was shot at Funkatala and that the people were heading to Nimtala Ghat on the Mathabhanga River for the Kali idol immersion. He added that the border fencing and gate seen in the video were built earlier this year and that large crowds gather here every year for the immersion, though this year’s crowd was slightly smaller due to the new gate and fencing.
Dutta also shared a geotagged photo of the exact spot where the crowd had gathered. The features visible in the viral video match those in the photo he provided. The comparison is shown below:
In an X post on 25 November 2025, the West Bengal Police clarified that the viral video is being shared with false claims and actually shows the Kali idol immersion at Phunkotala village in Nadia district, not illegal immigrants leaving the state, and warned against spreading such misleading content.
To sum up, a video of Kali idol immersion in West Bengal is being shared as showing illegal Bangladeshis leaving after the SIR announcement.
