Visuals of a crowd armed with sticks trying to stop army vehicles from moving forward have gone viral on social media. Users are claiming that the incident is from West Bengal.

Alt News received several requests on its WhatsApp helpline number (76000 11160) to fact-check the reality of the clip.

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The video is viral on Facebook as well with the claim that in Bengal, Muslims stopped an Army vehicle while it was carrying an injured soldier. (1, 2, 3, 4)

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Same Video Viral Earlier as Well

The video had gone viral with similar claims in April-May, 2021, as well when elections were underway.

Several Facebook users shared the video with the text, “West Bengal. It is difficult for the government, police and the army to save their lives from them. An injured jawan was stopped en route to the hospital. This is going to happen in your city or your lane very soon. (*पश्चिम बंगाल* सरकार, पुलिस, फौज सबको इनसे जान बचानी मुश्किल है। *एक घायल जवान को अस्पताल ले जाने के लिऐ रोक दिया गया।* यह दृश्य आप के अपने शहर या गली में जल्दी आनेवाला है.)”

Facebook user Avinash Chandak wrote, “God save this world’s largest democracy. Another scene from West Bengal. Is this democracy?” (Archive link)

 

😡😡😡😡 God save this biggest democracy in d world… 😩😩😩
Another scene from West Bengal….
Is it democracy..🤔🤔

Posted by Avinash Chandak on Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Another Facebook user posted the video with the same claim. (Archive link)

 

😡😡😡😡 God save this biggest democracy in d world…😩😩😩
Another scene from West Bengal….👇👇
Is it democracy..🤔🤔
दोस्तों, क्या यह दृश्य आप आप के शहर या गली में देखना चाहते हो😔

Posted by सम्पत मनमौजी on Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Then also, the visuals were being shared as West Bengal on both Facebook and Twitter.

Fact Check

We noticed that the people in the video were speaking Bengali in the Bangladeshi dialect. A closer look also reveals the Bangladesh Army logo on a vehicle.

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Furthermore, the uniform sported by the army personnel also carries the Bangladeshi army logo and AMC is written on the uniform sleeves. AMC is an acronym for Armed Forces Medical College (Bangladesh).

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The crowd can be heard chanting the slogan, “আমার ভাই শহীদ কেন খুনি হাসিনা জবাব দিন” which translates to, “Why were our brothers martyred? Murderer Hasina must answer”. A keyword search led us to several videos where the same slogan was raised.

 

আমার ভাই শহীদ কেন প্রশাসন জবাব চাই।,
আমার ভাইয়ের রক্ত বৃথা যেতে দিবনা।
নোয়াখালী জেলা তে হেফাজতে ইসলাম বাংলাদেশ এবং ইসলামী আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশ যৌথভাবে বিক্ষোভ মিছিল এবং সমাবেশ করেন। আগামী কাল সারাদেশে হরতাল মাঠে থাকবে হেফাজতে ইসলাম বাংলাদেশ ইসলামী আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশের ও তৌহিদী জনতা

Posted by Md Nasiruddin Bhuiya on Saturday, March 27, 2021

Boomlive had earlier fact-checked the clip and found that it was uploaded by Facebook user ‘H.M. Al Amin’ on March 28, 2021. He wrote that the video was shot at Hathazari Road in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dhaka on March 26 for a two-day tour of Bangladesh. Demonstrations were held around the country in protest of his visit. The clip in question shows one such protest. BBC reported that Bangladeshi Islamists, madrasa students, and left-wing supporters staged protests against Modi’s anti-Muslim policies. Twelve people died in these demonstrations.

According to the Dhaka Tribune, four people were killed during a demonstration in Hathazari, Bangladesh. Reuters also released a video story covering the incident.

To sum up, footage from a protest against Prime Minister Modi’s Bangladesh visit was falsely shared on social media as West Bengal.

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About the Author

Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.