Recently, a photo has been circulated on the social media platform X, claiming to show a recent scene of arson at the homes of Hindu community members in Bangladesh.
See the posts circulated on X with this claim: here (archive) and here (archive).
Fact-check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that the circulated image is not recent. In fact, it is a photo captured during the attacks and arson on several houses of the Hindu community in Sahapara of Dighalia village, Lohagara, Narail, on July 15, 2022, following allegations of religious defamation. This old photo has been recently circulated with the aforementioned claim.
In the investigation on this matter, a report published on July 18, 2022, on The Business Standard website was found. From the detailed description of this report, which includes the same photo, it is learned that on July 15, 2022, several houses of the Hindu community in Sahapara, Dighalia village, Lohagara, were attacked and set on fire over allegations of religious defamation. This is originally a photo from that incident.
Additionally, the same information is confirmed by news published in multiple domestic (1, 2) media outlets at that time.
Furthermore, no news or complaints regarding recent arson at the homes of Hindu community members in the country have been found.
Therefore, a photo captured during the 2022 attack and arson on several Hindu houses in Dighalia village, Lohagara, over defamation allegations is being circulated by Indian X accounts as a recent incident, which is misleading.
Sources
- The Business Standard: What happened in Narail: Charred houses, charred us
- The Daily Star: Who is entitled to ‘hurt religious sentiments’?
- Dhaka Tribune: Sahapara in Narail: Not communal conflict, but persecution