2021 incident of sexual assault in Bengaluru viral as rape of Hindu woman in Bangladesh amid ongoing crisis

Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence

A photo is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it shows the rape of a Hindu woman in Bangladesh amid the ongoing crisis. The image seemingly shows an individual being pinned down on a bed by others. The individual has no clothes on his/her upper body much of which is masked in the photo by drawing lines. Below the photo, one can see a few sentences which have been translated from Bengali using Google Translate. It is stated that “All Hindus are agents of India” and “This is how Hindus should be taught.” Some users shared not one, but a couple of blurred/censored photos with similar claims. The second image is a blurred and close-up shot of a woman’s face. She seems to be held against her will.

Right-wing X (Twitter) handle हम लोग We The People (@ajaychauhan41) shared the two images claiming, “Another horrific incident is coming to light from Bangladesh. Jihadis are raping Hindu women all over Bangladesh. These protests started as “student protests” and have now turned into Hindu genocide.” (We have blurred the face.)

Among others who shared the photo/s with the same claim are verified X users Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala), Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras), Dev Anand Simha (@Narsimha_dev), Randomsena (@randomsena), Kanishka Dadhich (@KanishkaDadhich), The Abhishek Tiwary Show (@atsshow7), Gems of Shorts (@Warlock_Shabby), Preet Sirohi (@BhaiPreetSingh) and others.

The Original Video Was Viral in 2023 As Incident from Manipur

The distressing video, from which the screenshot mentioned above has been taken, surfaced on the internet last year. It showed a girl forced to take her clothes off. It was then shared with the claim that the incident had happened in Manipur. Manipur witnessed intense violence and tension since in May-June 2023 after an ethnic clash had broken out between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

X (formerly Twitter) user Tanvir’s Backup account (@T_A_backup) posted the above-mentioned video on October 8 with the following caption: “TW: Molestation. Reportedly a video from #Manipur where a Christian girl was kidnapped. A few hindu men can be seen ripping off her clothes as she screams for help. The hindu men telecast this on SM as she was being gangraped by them. The hindus in Manipur have regime’s support”. The tweet has now been taken down by X for violating the rules of the platform. (Archive)

Facebook user Abdul Kadar also shared the same video on October 5 with a caption in Tamil that can be translated as: “Gang-rape in Manipur”.

Fact Check

We broke down the video into multiple key frames and ran a reverse image search on a few of them. This led us to a news report by News Bangla 24, a news outlet in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from June 2021. The title of the report in Bengali can be translated as: “Abuse of young women in India: Trafficking ringleaders confess”. The report said that the survivor and the perpetrators both were Bangladeshi nationals and that the incident had occurred in Kerala.

Taking a cue from this, we ran a relevant keyword search and came across a report by the Deccan Herald. The report said five illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had been arrested in the case. The survivor was staying with the perpetrators who brought her from Bangladesh to India promising a job and later forced her into prostitution.

Bengaluru police arrested 12 persons, including three women, in connection to the gang rape and torture of the woman in the viral video.

We came across a tweet by the Bengaluru Police commissioner from July 8, 2021, that stated that out of the 12 arrested, 11 of the perpetrators are Bangladeshi nationals, including the survivor.

An update on the Bangladeshi woman abuse case:

Twelve accused are arrested, out of which 11 accused persons & the victim are Bangladeshi nationals. The investigation is complete and a detailed & systemic 1019 page charge sheet has been submitted to the Hon’ble Court.. (1/3)

— CP Bengaluru ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಆಯುಕ್ತ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು (@CPBlr) July 8, 2021

Therefore, both the claims — that the video showed an alleged crime from Bangladesh or Manipur — are false. The video dates back to 2021 and occurred in Bengaluru. The police took action in the matter and arrested those involved in the case.