A video of people standing in a queue at a ferry ghat is being shared with the claim that it shows a large number of illegal migrants leaving West Bengal after the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
BOOM found that the video is from Mongla in Bangladesh. BOOM Bangladesh also spoke to a local journalist who confirmed that the footage shows daily commuters in Mongla and clarified that it does not show people crossing the Bangladesh border.
After the announcement of SIR by the election commission, confusion and panic spread among a section of people in West Bengal who feared for their citizenship status. Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in the state, publicly opposed the SIR process and claimed that several individuals died by suicide due to fear triggered by the announcement.
The Claim
A verified X handle posted the video with the caption, "Illegals doing “Ghar Wapsi” as soon as SIR is announced in West Bengal. Aur ye darr achaa hai. Hope they won’t return by the time of election."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Right-wing X handle Kreately.in posted the video making a similar false claim.
What We Found: Video Is From Bangladesh
1. Video From Bangladesh: We broke the footage into keyframes and used Google Lens for a reverse image search. The search led to an article from Bangladesh based Independent Television that carried a similar photograph. The outlet said the image shows daily commuters in Mongla Ghat in Khulna and highlighted the poor condition of the ferry ghat, which handles around two lakh passengers in the country.
We then compared the picture with a keyframe from the viral footage and found that they match closely.
2. Confirmation From Local Journalist: For further confirmation, BOOM Bangladesh reached out to a local journalist, Md. Jasimuddin from Mongla, who reports for Bangladesh Television. He confirmed that the video is from Mongla in Bangladesh and does not show anyone crossing the Bangladesh border.
Jasimuddin said, "The video is from Mongla. It is not a border. It shows female workers traveling from old Mongla to the EPZ. Scenes like this are still seen every morning. They leave for work at 7:30 in the morning and return at 7:30 in the evening."
(Additional Reporting: Tausif Akbar, BOOM Bangladesh)