Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
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
A girl lying on streets, with her hands and feet tied up, shows the plight of Hindu women in Bangladesh.
Fact
Video of a staged act as a part of a protest against the suicide of a University student in Dhaka.
Amid the reports of targeted attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina’s exit, several unverified visuals claiming to show brutality towards members of the community are flooding social media platforms. One such video showing a girl, with her hands and feet bound together, and her mouth taped shut, is being widely shared to show the plight of Hindu women in the crisis-hit Bangladesh. Newschecker, however, found the video was part of a protest against a university student’s suicide in Dhaka.
Several X users, including verified handles, shared the video alleging it to show the harassment of Hindu women in Bangladesh. The nearly 30-second-long-video has also found its way to YouTube.
Such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
Also Read: Old, Unrelated Images From Myanmar, Hong Kong Shared As Bangladesh Protests
Fact Check/Verification
On carefully analysing the viral video, we spotted a bus seen in the background, with Bengali text written on it. We looked up the same on Google lens, which translated it to Jagannath University.
Further, we noticed multiple X users pointing out that the video was actually from a protest against suicide by a Jagannath University student.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “Jagannath University,” “Protest” and “Student Suicide” in Bengali on Google , which yielded a report by Prothom Alo, dated March 17, 2024.
“The students of the Jagannath University held various protest programs on Sunday also in protest of the suicide of Fairuz Sadaf Avantika, a student of Jagannath University. From this evening onwards, they held various programs including a protest rally, torch procession in the university campus (translated from Bengali via Google),” stated the report.
Also Read: No, This Is Not The First Photo Of Sheikh Hasina Since Her Arrival In India
The report featured visuals from the protest. In one such image, we spotted the girl seen in the viral footage. “The students of the theater department of the university performed performing arts on the suicide incident of Avantika,” the caption stated.
Multiple reports detailing the event, such as this and this, also carried the visuals showing the same girl staging an act as a part of the protest over the student’s suicide.
A video report by Channel 24 also featured the girl seen in the viral video along with others participating in the protest at the University.
On further research we found a report by Bangladeshi publication, The News, dated July 31, 2024, which identified the student seen in the video as one ‘Trishna.’ The report further clarified that she was not a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami league, as earlier claimed, and quoted her as saying, “This is the scene of a road drama on the day of candle light vigil for Avantika Apu’s death. After this incident, my relatives and acquaintances called me and asked me for details of the incident. They also felt that it was a case of torture.”
We also found a Facebook post by JnU Short Stories, dated 26, 2024, carrying the same video. “The girl is a regular student of Jagannath University in the academic year 2021-22. This video is the scene of the path play as a protest against Avantika’s suicide a few days ago!,” the post stated.
Newschecker also reached out to a friend of the girl seen in the video, who informed us that while she is a Hindu, the video was from a “street act about a girl who committed suicide over her batchmates’ unsupportive behaviour.”
Also Read: Old Image Of Defaced Rabindranath Tagore Bust Linked To 2024 Bangladesh Protests
Conclusion
Hence, a video from a staged act as a part of a protest over the suicide of a University student has been misleadingly shared to show the current plight of Hindu women in Bangladesh.
Result: False
Sources
Report By Prothom Alo, Dated March 17, 2024
YouTube Video By Channel 24, Dated March 18, 2024
Report By The News, Dated July 31, 2024
(With reporting inputs from Runjay Kumar)
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
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.
