Claim That Muslims Raped and Killed Hindu Girl Shrabanti Ghosh in Bangladesh is False
On January 4, police recovered the hanging body of a 12-year-old Hindu child named Shrabanti Ghosh from her home in the Khulshi area of Chittagong city. In this context, recently, several Indian accounts on social media X (formerly Twitter) have been circulating the child’s photo, claiming that a proposal was made to convert the child and marry her to a 49-year-old Muslim man named Mohammad. It is alleged that because her family rejected this, several radical Muslims raped and subsequently killed the child.
See such posts circulated on X (formerly Twitter) here (Archive), here (Archive), and here (Archive).
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner has found that the claim that a 12-year-old Hindu girl Shrabanti Ghosh was raped and killed in Chittagong, Bangladesh, by radical Islamists is false. The deceased parents did not make any such claims. Police have arrested two individuals, the house owner Pradip Lal Ghosh and a neighbor Ajay Singh, both of whom are Hindus, in connection with the alleged rape and murder after a complaint was filed by the deceased girl’s mother.
Investigating the discussed claim, a report published on the website of the daily Samakal regarding the incident reveals that police recovered Shrabanti’s hanging body in the early hours of January 4. Both the mother and father of the deceased child are working people. The father comes home from his workplace once a week. During the day, the children used to stay at the woman’s [paternal] grandfather’s house in a nearby area. On the night of the incident, Shrabanti returned home alone around 10 PM. At that time, her mother was at work. About half an hour later, the woman’s grandfather arrived at the house with the younger son and found the door open. Upon entering, they found Shrabanti in a hanging position. Receiving the news, Shrabanti’s mother returned home around 12 AM. Usually, she goes to work at noon and returns home around 1 AM.
The deceased’s mother claims her daughter knew nothing about suicide, given that she was a child. Additionally, her feet were touching the bed, which is unusual.
Furthermore, it is known from the report that the deceased’s family claims their daughter was killed after being raped. Based on their complaint and the case filed, three individuals were reportedly detained. They are the landlord Pradip Lal Ghosh and neighbor Ajay Singh. Both of them are followers of the Hindu religion. Additionally, the deceased’s mother, Rosy Ghosh, filed a case naming 3 other unknown persons as accused. However, no information connecting the incident to communalism was found anywhere in the report.
Alongside this report, other media reports published regarding this incident also did not contain any information regarding the claim of the child being converted and married to an elderly Muslim man. See some such reports here, here, and here.
Subsequently, when contacted by Rumor Scanner to inquire about the discussed claim, the deceased child Shrabanti Ghosh’s mother, Rosy Ghosh, stated that the claim of a marriage proposal coming for such a small child is absurd. The information circulated regarding a marriage proposal to a Muslim man or conversion is completely false. No such event occurred. There is no connection to communalism with this. She further stated, “I have filed a case against those I suspect. None of them are Muslims.”
Therefore, the information circulated on social media claiming the involvement of radical Muslims in the death of the child Shrabanti in the Khulshi area of Chittagong is completely false.
Sources
- Samakal Website: Allegation of rape and murder of a 12-year-old child in Chittagong, 2 arrested including landlord
- Statement of Rosy Gosh, Mother of the deceased Shrabonti Ghosh