After Murshidabad, violent clashes broke out in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas after the supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) clashed with the police during the protests against the Waqf Bill. Amidst this, a video is being widely shared claiming to show how over 150 acres of agricultural land belonging to Hindus is being destroyed.
During the investigation, we found that the video is not from India, but from Bangladesh.
Claim:
X user Lal Kishore Yadav shared the video with the viral claim.
Other users are also sharing the video with a similar claim.
Investigation:
We started the investigation by uploading the video to the InVid tool. This led us to a video on Facebook. The video was posted on 28 November 2024.
The caption said: মুর্শিদপুর দরবার শরীফে অতর্কিত হাম লার রামশহর দরবার থেকে তীব্র নিন্দা ও প্রতিবাদ জানাচ্ছি। আচমকা অতর্কিত হাম লা করে কাপুরুষরা, হিম্মত থাকলে সরাসরি কোরআন-সুন্নাহ দিয়ে মো*কাবেলা করো।
Translation: I strongly condemn and reject the terrorist attack on Murshidpur Darbar Sharif from Ramshahar Darbar. Those who suddenly carry out terrorist attacks, if you have the courage, confront them directly with the Quran and Sunnah.
We also found a post on X, posted on November 29, 2024.
We also found another video posted on Facebook on 28 November 2024.
We found another video posted on Instagram on 28 November 2024.
The post said (translation): The biggest shrine of Sherpur. Breaking down and rolling. The students of Madrasa have given. Allegedly looting many things including cow buffalo, and dumba this time
By using a keyword search, we found a news report in The Daily Star published on November 28, 2024.
The report said: An unruly mob of over a hundred once again attacked the Doja Pirer Darbar, also known as Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, in Sherpur Sadar upazila, yesterday.
We reached out to a fact-checker in Bangladesh who confirmed that the incident is from Bangladesh and also shared the link of a news report on Dhaka Tribune from 27 November, 2024.
The report said: Police detained seven individuals in connection with the vandalism and looting of Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, the religious establishment led by Khwaja Badrudduja Haider (Doja Pir), in Sherpur’s Lachhmanpur area on Tuesday morning.
We also found a video report of the incident on the YouTube channel of Jamuna TV.
Conclusion: An old video of the attack on Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, in Sherpur in Bangladesh being falsely shared as recent from the Murshidabad violence in West Bengal. The viral claim is misleading.
