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 and 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, here). Amidst this unrest, a video with a million views (here, here and here) showing a large rally with saffron flags and wooden sticks is being shared with the claim that it’s a Bajrang Dal rally heading to Kolkata Raj Bhavan — let’s find out the truth behind this video.
Claim: The viral video shows a Bajrang Dal rally heading to Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan in connection with the recent violence in Murshidabad, West Bengal.
Fact: The video is from a religious rally held on 11 February 2025, at Raigad Fort in Maharashtra as part of the Dharatirth Gadkot campaign led by Sambhaji Bhide of Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan. The event is unrelated to Bajrang Dal or any incident in West Bengal. No credible reports confirm that Bajrang Dal held such a rally. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
To verify the video, we conducted a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the extended version of the viral clip posted by Marathi news channel ABP Majha on Facebook on 11 February 2025. The viral portion appears at the beginning, followed by additional footage showing the same rally. In the video, most participants are seen wearing saffron head turbans, carrying rolled mats on their shoulders, and holding wooden sticks. The caption in Hindi identifies it as “Raigad Sambhaji Bhide: Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan Gadkot campaign, Sambhaji Bhide’s Dharkari at Raigad.” This confirms the video is from a Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan rally in Raigad, Maharashtra, and predates the unrest in West Bengal related to the Waqf Amendment Bill.
We also found the same video uploaded by ABP Majha on YouTube, featuring identical visuals and the same caption. This further confirms that the video is from a Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan rally in Raigad, not a Bajrang Dal rally to Kolkata.
Further search about the event led us to multiple news reports (here, here and here), including an exclusive report by Pudhari, a prominent news outlet in Maharashtra. According to Pudhari, on 11 February 2025, Sambhaji Bhide Guruji, leader of Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, led the concluding day of a four-day Dharatirth Gadkot campaign at Raigad Fort, where lakhs of saffron-clad supporters had gathered. Reaffirming an earlier resolution to build a 32-mana golden throne for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bhide addressed various issues such as youth addiction, cow slaughter, and crimes against women. He called for national unity, adherence to the Constitution, and strong action against those who abuse women. He also announced a mass padyatra to be held on Independence Day. Minister Bharat Gogavale and several MLAs were present at the event, expressing full support for the resolution and praising Bhide’s commitment and the discipline of his followers. The event saw the fort covered in saffron and a strong symbolic show of Shiv Pratishthan’s presence.
Additionally, we could not find any credible report confirming that Bajrang Dal held a rally to the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata in connection with the recent Murshidabad violence. Moreover, the viral video has no links to Bajrang Dal or West Bengal—it is unrelated. In fact, we had previously debunked a similar claim involving another video, which was also falsely linked to the Bajrang Dal.
To sum up, a religious rally from Maharashtra was falsely shared as a Bajrang Dal rally heading to Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan.
