A video of the Baktara village riots between two communities in Madhya Pradesh in March 2025 is being falsely shared as a communal incident from West Bengal
Following the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, in the first week of April, Muslims have been protesting against the newly enacted law across the country, including in West Bengal (here, here, and here). According to news reports (here, here), on 11 April 2025, these protests turned violent in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, resulting in Violence and riots. Reports (here, here, and here) indicate that three people lost their lives in the violence: two Hindus, Chandan Das and Hargobind Das, were killed in a mob attack, while a Muslim man died in police firing. According to reports, hundreds of people (mostly Hindus) affected by the violence in Murshidabad district crossed the Bhagirathi River. They sought refuge in the adjoining Malda district (here, here, and here). On 12 April 2025, the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of central forces to restore peace and order in the district (here).
Amid this unrest, a video (here, here and here) has gone viral on social media showing people attacking and vandalising a house, with a photo of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar visible on the wall. It is being claimed that Dalit families were attacked by Muslims in West Bengal. Let’s investigate the truth behind this claim.
Claim: Video shows Muslims from West Bengal are vandalising Dalit homes in West Bengal.
Fact: The video actually depicts riots that occurred in Baktara village, Madhya Pradesh, in March 2025, where tensions between Dalits and the Kirar community escalated following a murder. The video is unrelated to West Bengal, and hence, the claim is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search, which led us to a post by Bahujan Samaj Party National Coordinator and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam on X, shared on 7 March 2025. In his post, he alleged that a “jungle raj” is prevailing in Madhya Pradesh, accusing the BJP government of failing to protect Dalits, the backward classes, and tribals. He claimed that a mob of around 500 people attacked Dalit homes in Baktara village of Sehore district—breaking doors and assaulting women and children—while the police allegedly stood by and watched.
For further information, we conducted a search using relevant keywords and came across a report published by the Zee News YouTube channel on 7 March 2025, which showed the same visuals from the viral video.
According to the report, a violent clash broke out between the Dalit and Kirar communities in Baktara village of Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh, following the murder of Bablesh Chauhan, a member of the Kirar community. In the aftermath, several locations in the village were set on fire. Tensions escalated further when members of the Kirar community reportedly refused to sell goods to Dalits, effectively initiating a social boycott. This deepening unrest eventually led to large-scale violence and riots in the area. Several news reports covering this incident can be found here, here, and here.
To sum up, video of the Baktara village riots between two communities in Madhya Pradesh in March 2025 is being falsely shared as a communal incident from West Bengal.