Amid the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh (here, here), a video showing several people lying on the road, seemingly dead or injured, is being widely shared on social media platforms (here, here, here, & here). The claim accompanying the video alleges that these visuals show Hindus killed by Muslims in the recent unrest in Bangladesh. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video showing visuals of Hindus killed by Muslims during the recent 2024 unrest in Bangladesh.
Fact: The viral video shows visuals of an electrocution incident that occurred during a Rath Yatra in Bangladesh. According to reports, five people were killed and around 50 were injured by electrocution during the Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Bogura on 07 July 2024. The incident happened when the chariot’s metal dome came into contact with a high-voltage overhead wire and caught fire. Bogura a city in northern Bangladesh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Bangladesh has witnessed deadly protests that began in July 2024 as an anti-quota movement. Recently, these mass protests have evolved into a major anti-government uprising. The situation escalated when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country. Protesters forcefully entered her official residence in Dhaka, looting and vandalizing the premises (here & here).
Reports indicate that mobs attacked the homes and businesses of minorities, particularly Hindus, looting their valuables (here). There are also reports of Hindu homes and temples being vandalized and set on fire (here).
According to recent reports, hundreds of people protested in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, on 09 August 2024, and later in other parts of the country, against violence targeting the minority Hindu community since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and fled on 05 August 2024 (here, here, & here).
To gather details about this viral video, we conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to an extended version (archived link) of the viral video uploaded on a Facebook page named ‘Sirajganj Express’ on 07 July 2024. This Facebook page identifies itself as a ‘Media/News Company’ based in Sirajganj, Bangladesh. The caption of this video states that five people were killed, and at least 30 were injured during a Rath yatra in Bogura (on translation from Bengali to English). Bogura is a city in northern Bangladesh. Some of the viral videos also carry the logo of Sirajganj Express in the top left corner.
Taking this cue, we conducted a keyword search in Bengali to gather more details about the incident. This search led us to several news reports (here, here, here, here, & here) published by Bangladeshi media outlets in July 2024. According to these reports, five people were killed, and around 50 were injured by electrocution during a Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Bogura on 07 July 2024. The deceased were identified as Alok, Atashi, Rajinta, Naresh, and Sabita. The reports further stated that the incident occurred when the chariot’s metal dome came into contact with a high-voltage overhead wire and caught fire. Although the deceased were Hindus, it is clear from these reports that this incident has nothing to do with the current situation in Bangladesh.
To sum up, a video showing an electrocution incident during a Rath Yatra in Bangladesh is being shared with a false communal narrative.
