A video shared on social media (here, and here) shows a group of men using a sledgehammer to break a statue on a wall. The post claims that the video shows Muslims in Afghanistan “vandalising the temple of “Lord Buddha.” Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: A video shows Muslims in Afghanistan vandalising the temple of Lord Buddha.
Fact: The viral video is from ‘Hero Freedom Fighter Sahan Ara Begum Park’ in Barisal, Bangladesh, where this incident occurred on 5 August 2024. Reports state that Sadiq Abdullah, former city mayor and general secretary of the Barishal Awami League, built the park by occupying the Barishal highway, violating regulations. This narrowed the highway, causing frequent accidents. In response the public, opposition, and student unions demolished the park, the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and other installations. The video has nothing to do with Afghanistan. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to a Facebook post by Sozoo Today, (archive) uploaded on 5 August 2024, featuring the image of the same broken statue. The post’s description indicated that the photo was taken in Barishal, Bangladesh.
We also found the same photo used in the thumbnail of a video (archive) on Ajker Patrika’s YouTube channel, published on 7 August 2024. The description mentioned, “The wounds of the devastation are visible in the city of Barisal. Bricks, burnt tyres, and tree trunks were seen lying on various roads, including the Dhaka-Barisal highway in the city,” but no additional context was provided.
To gather more information, we contacted Bangladeshi fact-checker Shohanur Rahman, who shared details from a Somoy National News report (archive) published on 30 September 2024. The report stated that Sadiq Abdullah, the former city mayor and general secretary of the Barishal Awami League, built a park in the name of his mother by occupying the Barishal highway, without adhering to the required rules and regulations. The development narrowed the highways, causing frequent accidents. This angered the public, on 05 August 2025 opposition, and student unions, responded by demolishing the park, the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and other installations.
We verified that the location is Hero Freedom Fighter Sahan Ara Begum Park in Barisal, Bangladesh, through Google Maps street view.
It has to be noted that there have been multiple Buddha statue vandalism incidents in the past (here, here, and here) in Afghanistan. However, the viral video is not related to Afghanistan or the demolition of Buddha statues.
To sum up, the video of the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman statue demolition in Bangladesh is falsely shared as Buddha Temple vandalism in Afghanistan.
