Muslims attacked Hindus in Rajasthan after polls? Video from Bangladesh shared with false claim

राजस्थान में कांग्रेस सरकार बनते ही पाकिस्तान से लगे जैसलमेर के दार्ती गांव में शांतिदूत मुस्लिमो द्वारा मारवाडी हिन्दूओ के घर जलाये गए और दो हिंदूओ को मौत के घाट उतार दिया (After Congress formed govt in Rajasthan, peaceful muslims in Darti village near Jaisalmer attacked Marwari Hindus, burning their houses. Two Hindus killed- translation). This message is circulating on Facebook along with a video which shows women wailing over the loss of their loved ones in violence.

The above post by a user Kattar Hindu Chora Jatav, posted on December 20 has been viewed over 19000 times and shared over 1400 times. It has also been posted by other social media users and on a Facebook page Bhagwa Raj, Page Like Kare from where it has been shared over 600 times.

OLD INCIDENT FROM BANGLADESH

Alt News fact-checked this provocative claim. Using software tools, we broke down the video into individual frames. We reverse searched some of the frames and found that the video not only dates back to 2013, but that it is not from India. The video posted below lays out the technique for fact-checking that Alt News adopted in this instance.

We found that the same video had been uploaded in March 2013 on YouTube by a user with the title ‘Muslims attacked 76 Hindu families and 5 Temples in Noyakhali, Bangladesh.

Communal violence had erupted in Noakhali, Bangladesh in March 2013 after an Islamist leader had been sentenced to death by a special tribunal over war crimes committed during the war of independence in 1971. A report by the BBC states, “The attack started hours after a senior hardline Islamist leader was sentenced to death by a special tribunal in late February. Jamaat-e-Islami party Vice President Delwar Hossain Sayedee was given a death sentence for crimes committed during the war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.”

The report mentioned that after the verdict was announced, supporters of the party went on a rampage, targeting the Hindu and Buddhist communities. 60 people were killed in clashes with security personnel.

An old incident from Bangladesh was falsely and maliciously shared as recent communal violence in Rajasthan following the assembly election. Disinformation as a weapon for political propaganda continues to be wielded even after polling has ended, and in most such instances, the Congress party is at the receiving end.