Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Hindu students singled out and beaten up across colleges in Bangladesh.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker noticed the building in the 1-minute 16-second video was the Dr Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College, which is in Dhaka. We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to multiple reports on the clash between students from various colleges.
According to a Dhaka.24 report, dated November 26, 2024, the police have registered a case against 8,000 students of Dr Mahabubur Rahman Mollah College and other colleges in the capital on charges of vandalism and theft of gun magazines. Sub-inspector AKM Hasan Mahmudul Kabir registered the case. which later came up for hearing in court. Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ziadur Rahman had issued the order to register a case after a complaint. According to the complaint, around 7,000 to 8,000 students of various colleges, including Dr. Mahabubur Rahman Mollah College, destroyed government property in riots with deadly weapons on November 24. They have also committed acts of vandalism by attacking policemen on duty and threatening their lives, the complaint stated.
“The capital’s Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Molla College was attacked and vandalised. During this attack, the students who carried out the attack took away various materials and equipment of the college. Hundreds of students of Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Kavi Nazrul College attacked Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College around 12 noon on Monday. Till the time of filing this report at 1 pm, there was a scuffle and clash between students of Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College and locals and students of Shaheed Suhrawardy College and Kavi Nazrul College. Earlier, students of Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College had looted and looted the National Medical College and Shaheed Suhrawardy College in Old Dhaka on Sunday following a complaint that a student named Abhijit Howlader died due to negligent treatment, “ as per a Prothom Alo report, dated November 25, 2024. Bijoy Ahmed, a student of the Bengali department of Shaheed Suhrawardy College, told Prothom Alo, “The students of Mahbubur Rahman College vandalized and looted our college yesterday. We have come to take revenge. I brought what I found to Molla College,” Speaking to eyewitnesses and relevant persons, leading Bangla daily Prothom Alo learnt that the attack on Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College was retaliation for the attack on Govt Shaheed Suhrawardy College in Dhaka.
“A planned retaliation dubbed ‘Mega Monday’ by the students of two government colleges turned Demra and Jatrabari areas of the capital into a battleground on Monday, leaving over 100 people injured. Students of Govt Kabi Nazrul College and Govt Shaheed Suhrawardy College clashed with their counterparts from Dr Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College at Demra to avenge Sunday’s attacks on their colleges labelled ‘Super Sunday’,” read a Daily Sun report, dated November 26, 2024, stating that Avijit Howlader, a student of Mollah College, died of dengue at Dhaka National Medical College Hospital on November 18, following which some students alleged that the death took place due to negligence in treatment.
“About 500-600 students of the college and some others vandalised the hospital on November 20. As the situation went out of control, the hospital authorities formed a probe committee comprising four doctors and two students. Then, a section of Kabi Nazrul and Suhrawardy colleges came to the spot to express their solidarity with the agitating students who ignored them, which led to an argument, resulting in injuries of two students of Suhrawardy College. Later, students from 35 colleges under the banner of United Colleges of Bangladesh (UCB), including Mollah College, clashed with the students of Kabi Nazrul and Suhrawardy colleges and vandalised the property of the two colleges on Sunday,” further read the report. Similar reports can be seen here and here, confirming that there is no communal angle to the viral video
Result: False
Sources
Dhaka.24 report, November 26, 2024
Prothomalo report, November 25, 2024
Daily Sun report, November 26, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
