Murshidabad Violence: BJP Shares Misleading Photo Collage Alleging Muslim Unrest During Hindu Festivals

Communal Violence has erupted in Murshidabad’s Shamserganj, Suti, and Dhulian (Murshidabad Violence), over the past few days, with a particular group accused of vandalism, arson, and even targeted killings amid the ongoing anti-Waqf Act 2025 unrest. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that the Border Security Force (BSF) has been deployed to restore peace in the affected areas.

Amid the escalating unrest, the BJP, the main opposition party of West Bengal, has blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasement politics. On April 13, West Bengal BJP shared a collage of nine images purportedly depicting clashes and unrest on their official X handle, alleging that members of the minority community, encouraged by Mamata Banerjee, deliberately created violence during various Hindu festivals across the state. 

The caption of the viral post reads, “Doesn’t matter the festival — they just need an excuse to burn it all down.” (sic) This is followed by another sentence in Bangla that translates to “The milking cows of Mamata Banerjee just need an excuse!”

An archive version of such posts can be seen here and here.

State BJP President and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar also shared the same collage with similar claims on his official social media account. However, the post was later deleted. The screenshot of the viral post can be seen below. 

Fact Check/ Verification

The first image in the collage was claimed to depict unrest during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. However, a fact-check has revealed that the photo actually shows an anti-CAA protest held in Satragachi, in West Bengal’s Howrah district, on December 14, 2019. The image was originally captured by a photographer from the news agency PTI. Many news outlets like Business Standard, Free Press Journal and Asian Age used the image in their report with the same caption at that time.  

The second photo in the collage gone viral with a caption “ Saraswati Puja” is actually from a protest against the NRC and CAA in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, held in December 2019. It has no connection to Saraswati Puja, as was claimed.

The fourth image is from the CAA protest in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2019. It is not related to Holi celebrations in West Bengal.

The fifth image claimed to show unrest in Diwali celebrations in West Bengal, is actually from a protest held in December 2019 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Mangalore, Karnataka.

The sixth image which is being circulated online as a scene of violence during Durga Puja is misleading. It is actually from a protest that took place in December 2019 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Howrah, West Bengal.

The seventh image is being shared on social media as a scene of a clash during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in West Bengal, but actually from a protest against the CAA held in Mangalore, Karnataka, in December 2019.

The eighth image is from a protest held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2019 against the Citizenship Amendment Act, not an image of unrest during Dussehra in West Bengal.

The ninth image actually shows a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that took place in Dibrugarh, Assam, in December 2019.

Our investigation has verified the authenticity of the third image in circulation. The photo accurately depicts a scene from the riots that occurred in Howrah, West Bengal, during Ram Navami celebrations in 2023. Unlike several other misleading images being shared online, this particular image is genuine

We found that West Bengal Police also labelled the viral photo collage as Fake.

Conclusion

Now it is safe to conclude that the photo collage shared on social media by BJP, which allegedly shows scenes of unrest in West Bengal involving Muslims during a Hindu festival, is Misleading.

Result: Misleading

Sources
Post by West Bengal Police, Dated April 13, 2025