A video of a group of people waving Bangladesh's national flags during a commercial advertisement shoot in Virar, Maharashtra, is being shared with the false claim that it shows undocumented Bangladeshis participating in a protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
BOOM found that the video is from a bike advertisement shoot in Bolinj, Virar, Maharashtra. Virar police and local residents confirmed the same to BOOM.
The video is also being falsely linked to a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Mumbai on October 2, 2026, demanding the resignation of Kumar.
The Claim:
The video was shared on social media to argue in favour of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with posts claiming that the people seen waving the flags are illegal Bangladeshis in Mumbai.
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What We Found:
1) Video is from an bike commercial advertisement shoot in Virar
BOOM ran a keyword search in Marathi and found local news reports about the incident.
ABP Majha reported that the video was recorded in Virar, a suburb in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, during a commercial advertisement shoot where participants were carrying Bangladeshi flags. According to the report, after the video went viral, some locals later burned Bangladeshi flags used by the production crew.
2) Virar Police confirms it was an ad shoot
BOOM contacted Bolinj Police in Virar about the viral video, who confirmed that it is from an ad shoot. “This was an ad shoot by a bike company on October 3,” a police personnel from Bolinj Police told BOOM.
3) BOOM visits location, eyewitnesses confirm ad shoot
BOOM geolocated the viral video to Bolinj in Virar, Maharashtra, and visited the location on October 5.
We found several visual similarities between the location and the viral footage, including buildings visible in the background and a painting of a tiger on a wall. The ads visible on the banners in the viral video have however been changed.
BOOM also spoke to two local residents who said they had witnessed a crew shooting at the location.
“When I was passing by, I saw cameras and a film crew on this road. I don’t know what they were shooting,” Akbar, 60, a nearby resident, told BOOM.
Sunil, 65, another local resident, told BOOM, “I was going for a walk here and saw some shooting happening.” It is however unclear when the shoot took place.