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Claim of an attack by radical Islamists and Jamaat-Shibir at a fair in Gazipur is false

Recently, a video has been circulated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) claiming that radical Islamists broke the music stage at a fair organized in Gazipur, stating that music is forbidden in Islam.

See such a video circulated on X here (Archive).

Another different video of the same incident was circulated by the X account ‘Bangladeshi Hindus Community,’ which promoted the discussed claim. The video claimed that militant Muslims attacked and looted everything at a trade fair organized in Gazipur, Dhaka. See the video circulated with this claim here (Archive).

The same video is being circulated on Facebook, claiming that Jamaat-BNP terrorists attacked the fair because they did not receive extortion money. See the post circulated on Facebook with this claim here (Archive).

Fact Check

The Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation found that the claim of an attack on the Gazipur Trade and Cottage Industry Fair by radical Islamists or BNP-Jamaat activists over extortion is incorrect. In fact, the attack and vandalism at the fair occurred due to an altercation that escalated into a physical assault on a customer over the price of tea and cigarettes. No information was found linking the attack to the aforementioned political groups.

In the initial stage of the investigation into the discussed claim, Rumor Scanner reviewed the circulated videos. One of the videos showed the logo of the electronic media outlet Maasranga Television, and the other showed the logo of the daily newspaper Janakantha.

Upon investigating the Maasranga Television video, the original video was found on the media outlet’s Facebook page.

The report stated that an altercation over a shopkeeper charging a higher price for tea at a fair shop eventually led to the shopkeepers beating some students from DUET (Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology). Subsequently, a group of DUET students and local residents jointly attacked and vandalized the fair. The report also mentioned that artists participating in the fair were seen climbing walls using a ladder to escape. However, nowhere did the report mention the involvement of radical Islamists or BNP-Jamaat activists in the attack.

Subsequently, the original video featuring the logo of the daily Janakantha was found on the media outlet’s Facebook page, where it was circulated on November 23.

Multiple media outlets published reports on the incident. See some of the published reports here, here, and here. Citing eyewitnesses, the reports stated that a customer refused to pay an excessively high price for a cigarette inside a fair shop. This led to an argument, which escalated into the shopkeeper and fair authorities physically assaulting the customer. When this news spread among the locals outside the fair, the local residents collectively attacked the fair.

The reports also mentioned that the locals had initial objections to the fair’s lottery business. However, the fair continued for a long time despite these objections, leading to increasing resentment among the locals. The attack was a manifestation of this built-up anger. However, the reports did not mention any connection between the attack and radical Islamists opposing music or BNP-Jamaat’s extortion activities. No reliable source has provided such information either.

Therefore, the incident of an attack stemming from an altercation over the price of tea and cigarettes has been circulated as an attack by radical Islamists or BNP-Jamaat at the Gazipur fair; which is completely false.

Sources

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