A video of a fire accident in Tripura which gutted a Durga Puja pandal and some adjacent shops is being falsely linked to the communal violence in Bangladesh against the Hindu community.
The video is viral in the backdrop of communal violence that shook Bangladesh during Durga Puja. According to latest report published on BBC Bangla citing Bangladesh Police sources, more than 450 people have been arrested and 71 cases have been lodged for rioting. The violence was fueled by an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja pandal in Bangladesh's Comilla. At least seven people have died so far.
The video is being claimed to be from Bangladesh's Rangpur. A verified Twitter account @UnityCouncilBD tweeted the video with a caption in English, "The situation in Rangpur is dire at the moment. Homes and temples of Hindus have been burnt down. Muslim mob has set fire to a Hindu village in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district. @UNHumanRights". The video has been watched more the 2.7 lakh times at the time of writing this article.
The tweet is archived here.
The video was also shared by author Anand Ranganathan. BOOM has earlier fact checked Ranganathan for peddling misinformation.
Media outlets like India Today, AajTak Bangla, TV9 Bharatvarsh, ABP News, Dainik Bhaskar, and Hindustan Times used the same scene to report about recent violence in Bangladesh.
Click here and here to view the reports.
The video has also been shared on Facebook with a similar caption.
"Breaking News 18/10/2021 AM Terrible situation in Rangpur. Hindu houses and temples have been set on fire. Fire and looting took place in two villages including Butter Bazar Majhipara of Ramnathpur union in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district. রংপুরে ভয়াবহ অবস্থা। হিন্দুদের বাড়িঘর ও মন্দির জ্বালিয়ে দেওয়া হয়েছে। রংপুর জেলার পীরগঞ্জ উপজেলার রামনাথপুর ইউনিয়নের বটের বাজার মাঝিপাড়া সহ দুটি গ্রামে অগ্নিসংযোগ ও লুটপাট।"
Fact Check
BOOM ran keyword searches on Facebook in Bangla. We found a Facebook post from October 13, 2021 with the same video. The video has been captioned as, "A section of shops and a Durga Puja pandal gutted in fire in Maracherra Bazar".
Same Video Posted On Facebook On October 13, 2021 As Maracherra Bazar
(Original caption in Bangla: "আগুনে পুড়ে ছাই হয়ে গেল মরাছড়া বাজারের একাংশ দোকান ও দূর্গা পূজা মণ্ডপ।") Maracherra Bazar is located in Tripura.
BOOM also found the same viral video in a news bulletin to report on the fire incident. The news reports were uploaded by local Tripura channels on Facebook and YouTube.
Also Read: Video Of Man Killed Over Land Dispute Falsely Shared As Bangladesh Violence
According to a report published on Time8, October 14, 2021, the fire broke out at midnight of Tuesday (October 12) in Maracherra Bazar under Kamalpur Police Station, Dhalai District of Tripura. Four shops and a Durga Puja Pandal were gutted by the fire. Firemen rushed to the spot and brought it under control after locals informed the Kamalpur fire station.
Another local Bangla outlet, Syandan Patrika reported about the damage estimated to Rs 16 Lakhs.
(The article has been updated to include other news outlets which used the screengrab of the video out of context)
Also Read: Durga Puja Pandal Vandalism In Bangladesh Shared As West Bengal