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James’s concert in Faridpur was not attacked for religious reasons

Recently, domestic and Indian social media, along with some Indian media outlets, have been circulating a video claiming that a “Tauhidi” crowd attacked the concert of popular singer James in Faridpur.

See the posts circulating on Facebook with this claim here (archive) and here (archive).

News has also been published in Indian media claiming that Islamist extremists attacked James’s concert. Some Indian media outlets have claimed this is a continuation of the ongoing attacks on art in Bangladesh. Additionally, some Indian media outlets claimed the attack was due to anger over Bollywood songs. News reports published in Indian media with such claims: Hindustan Times Bangla, Ei Samay, Republic Bangla (Facebook), News18 Bangla (Facebook), The Times of India, NDTV, Free Press Journal, ABP Live, India Today (X), Times Now (YouTube), One India Hindi (YouTube), Ekhon Kolkata (Facebook), Republic World (YouTube), The Statesman (Facebook), Capital TV (YouTube), NewsX Live (YouTube).

Posts have also been made from various Indian X accounts with such claims. See here (archive) and here (archive).

See the post circulated from an Indian Instagram account with such a claim here (archive).

Fact-check

The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that there is no religious involvement in the attack on James’s concert in Faridpur. In fact, the concert at Faridpur Zilla School on December 26 was only for registered former and current students. Upon hearing about singer James, thousands of unregistered outsiders came and tried to enter by climbing the walls. When they were blocked, they threw bricks one after another toward the audience and the stage. When the people in charge of security tried to stop them, they became even more desperate, which created the discussed situation.

In the investigation on this matter, a report published on December 27 was found on the website of the mainstream media outlet ‘BanglaVision’. An image was also found attached to the report, which matches the scene shown in the video circulated with the discussed claim. Regarding the incident, the report on the ‘BanglaVision’ website stated, ‘James’s (Nagar Baul) musical performance was spoiled by an attack by outsiders on the closing day of the 185th anniversary ceremony of Faridpur Zilla School. At least 25 people were injured in this incident. James was supposed to perform on the school premises at around 9:30 PM on Friday (December 26). According to eyewitnesses and organizing sources, just before the start of the program, when some outsiders were blocked from entering the venue, they tried to occupy the stage by throwing bricks. At this time, when the students of the school built a resistance, the situation became heated. Later, the agitated people were forced to leave the scene. When the situation deteriorated, at around 10:00 PM, the convener of the organizing committee, Dr. Mustafizur Rahman Shamim, announced from the stage that James’s performance had been canceled by order of the Deputy Commissioner due to the situation that had arisen’.

In addition, a relevant keyword search on this matter found a report published on December 27 on the website of the national daily Prothom Alo. According to sources from the organizing committee in the report, the reunion and cultural program were only for registered former and current students. Thousands of unregistered outsiders came after hearing about singer James. When they were not allowed to enter, they took positions on the nearby Mujib Road. Later, two projectors were set up outside on behalf of the organizing committee. However, not satisfied with this, the outsiders tried to enter by climbing the walls at around 9:30 PM. When they were blocked, they threw bricks one after another toward the audience and the stage on the school premises. When those in charge of security tried to stop them, they became even more reckless. About 25 to 30 people on the school premises were injured by the bricks they threw. At that time, when 4 to 5 people climbed the walls and entered the school premises, the students of Zilla School slapped them, and at one point, the program had to be stopped.

Also, in the Prothom Alo report, James’s spokesperson Rubaiyat Thakur Robin told Prothom Alo, ‘We reached Faridpur at 7:30 to participate in this event. We only learned that there was chaos after the program started. We were at the guest house then. When the chaos reached its extreme at 10:30 PM, we were informed about the cancellation of the program. After that, we returned to Dhaka’.

In addition, a post circulated on this matter was found on the Facebook page of the Faridpur District Police. The post stated that on the closing day of the program, chaos was created when about 8,000-10,000 unregistered outsiders who came to see popular singer James’s concert tried to enter by jumping over the wall. Failing to get inside, they threw bricks targeting the stage, which resulted in a chase and counter-chase between the students of Zilla School and the outsiders. Considering overall security and public interest, the program was declared suspended at 9:50 PM.

Furthermore, a post was also found on the Facebook account of a journalist named Rajib Ahmad regarding this. In the post, he said, ‘..The incident in Faridpur is that thousands of local James fans wanted to enter the concert of former and current registered students of Zilla School. Although a big screen was provided outside the field for these unregistered individuals, they were not satisfied. They threw bricks into the field. When they tried to enter by jumping over the wall, the former and current students in the field hit them. There is no angle of Tauhidi Janata here at all. No one went to stop the concert. The incident happened due to the fighting of James fans. No one was killed. And the claim of James fleeing for his life is fake, because when the incident happened, James had not even gone to the concert venue. He and his band were at the Circuit House. And a raffle draw was going on at the concert venue..’.

That is, no evidence was found in any reliable source in favor of the claim that Islamist extremists attacked James’s concert in Faridpur to stop it for religious reasons.

Therefore, the claim that Islamist extremists attacked James’s concert in Faridpur to stop it for religious reasons is misleading.

Sources

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