Photo from 2019 Vidyasagar college violence linked to post-poll violence in West Bengal

by Archit

Since post-poll violence erupted in West Bengal, old and unrelated images have been circulating on social media. Twitter user @Hindu_2_o shared a set of images where one of the pictures showed a mob gathered in front of a building in flames. His tweet drew over 1,000 retweets as of the writing.

Another user @takale_abhishek posted this image along with others photos and wrote, “We want #PresidentRuleInBengal bcz of #BengalViolence #Hindus are being killed like Kashmiris…”

Twitter user @Priya70554146 shared the image and blamed TMC for the violence.

Image from 2019

The image in question is from the clash between supporters of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) at Vidyasagar College in May 2019. The image was published by The Statesman and Swaraj Digital. It was credited to Twitter @ishowcase01 (no longer active). The Statesman reported that BJP and TMC supporters fought on the streets of Kolkata during a massive roadshow by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Violence at Vidyasagar college had given rise to misinformation before the general elections in 2019. BJP members and supporters denied that the party played any role in the violence. Alt News had published an elaborate report on the claims made by Amit Shah.

A two-year-old photo has thus been falsely linked to post-poll violence in West Bengal.

Donate to Alt News!
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.

Donate Now

Tagged:
About the Author

ЁЯЩП Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023.