Year old video of a mob beating two, is being shared claimed recent amidst lockdown.
A video is going viral on social media, hinting at communal violence in Bangladesh. In the video, several men can be seen brutally beating up two other men with wooden sticks, while many others stand by as spectators. In the backdrop of the recent communal violence in West Bengal’s Telinipara in Howrah district, the posts are aiming to unite Hindu’s against Muslim violence. This post on twitter, uploaded by user Pooja Sharma on 14th May, 2020 has already garnered over 22k views and 1.3k retweets.
बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं की हालत अभी भी मोका है एक हो जाओ, नहीं तो यहां भी बांग्लादेश हो जाएगा pic.twitter.com/zvZvzrSl0N
— Pooja Sharma (@mesharmapooja) May 14, 2020
The caption along with the post, which is in Hindi, reads, “बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं की हालत अभी भी मोका है एक हो जाओ, नहीं तो यहां भी बांग्लादेश हो जाएगा”
Translation: The condition of Hindus in Bangladesh. Unite while there is still time, or else this place will become Bangladesh too.”
The same video has been shared by several people on twitter, asking for justice for Hindus in Bangladesh. According to this user, “if the government keeps onlooking while Hindu kids keep getting beaten up, us Hindus could be forced to do something ourselves”.
जिस तरह से बांग्लादेश में बेकसूर हिंदू बच्चों को घेरकर मारा जा रहा हैं और सरकार चुपचाप बैठ कर तमाशा देख रही है तो ऐसा ना हो कि हम हिंदू भी कुछ करने पर विवश हो जाएं इस मामले को तुरंत संज्ञान में लेकर सभी आरोपियों पर कठोर कार्रवाई करें !! #हिंदू_भाइयों_पर_अत्याचार_अब_नहीं_सहेंगे pic.twitter.com/DLMO8HtlEi
— प्रांशु राय भूमि (@pranshuraibhumi) May 15, 2020
The same video is going viral on facebook, being uploaded by several users, often with the very same caption.
Another post with the same video has been found on Facebook, with a twisted narrative, suggesting that the incident took place in West Bengal.
The caption along with this post reads, “बंगाल में हिन्दुओं को चुन चुन कर, तडपा तडपा कर मारा जा रहा है
ये तब है जब केंद्र में हिन्दू राष्ट्रवादी पार्टी पूर्ण बहुमत के साथ है, मोदी जी क्यूँ मूकदर्शक बने हुए है?? और कितना विश्वास जीतना है आपको जिहादियों का?”
Translation: “Hindus in West Bengal are being singled out and brutally beaten. This is when the Hindu Nationalist Party is at the center with absolute majority. Why is Modi ji being a mute spectator? How much more do you want these Jihadis to have trust in you?”
TRUTH
Upon performing a reverse image search on different search engines, it was found that this video is at least a year old. It was first uploaded on a YouTube channel on 25 March, 2019.
This same video has also been shared by several users on Facebook on 25th April, 2020. These posts suggest that the video is in fact from Bangladesh.
The caption, which is written in Bangla, reads, “কি শুরু হলো বাংলাদেশে এইসব???”
Translation: “What started all this in Bangladesh???”
While the exact context and location of the video could not be ascertained, it has been found that the video is over a year old and belongs to Bangladesh, and has got nothing to do with the current tensions going on in West Bengal.
Journalism Student.
When not busting fake news, can be found hiking, exploring and trying to feel alive.
