A graphic video circulating online shows a mob violently assaulting a man who is tied upside down to a tree. The video is being falsely linked to claims that extremists are targeting Hindus amid recent violence in Bangladesh. In reality, the video is from July 2024 and portrays a completely different incident. The man in question, Jewel Molla, a supporter of former Gazipur mayor Jahangir Alam, was attacked by protesters in the Uttara House Building area of Dhaka. This event has no connection to religious hate crimes.
Sharing the video on X (Formerly Twitter) propaganda account @ajaychauhan41 wrote, Hindus are being brutally tortured by Islamists in Bangladesh. Where are the human rights organizations of our country? Where are the human rights organizations in America and Europe? —Strong condemnation and protest…!! ( Translated from Hindi)
The truth about the video shared from Dhaka, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the sensitive video and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the video. We found that the incident was unrelated to religious hate crimes.
To verify the claims made by the users. We conducted a reverse image search of key frames from the video using Google Lens. This led us to a Facebook post that included the video. The post claims that Hamidul Islam Mollah (also known as Jewel Mollah), a follower of former Gazipur Mayor Jahangir Alam, was killed on July 19, 2024, in Uttara and hung from a tree.
Furthermore, taking a cue from the Facebook post, we performed relevant keyword searches and found media reports regarding the incident. According to reports (1, 2, 3), the video is from July 2024 and is related to Jewel Molla, a supporter of former Gazipur mayor Jahangir Alam, who was attacked by protesters in the Uttara House Building area of Dhaka. Hence, this event has no connection to religious hate crimes.
Therefore, it is evident from verified sources that the video was not related to religious hate crimes. Both the accused and victims belonged to the same community.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) January 8, 2025
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A sensitive video showing a mob brutally assaulting a man tied upside down to a tree is being shared with the claims that extremists are targeting Hindus during recent violence in Bangladesh. However, this video is from July 2024 (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Sk56lNR9nc
Intent
Influencers are circulating old videos from Bangladesh with misleading claims to set their narrative based on religion.
Conclusion
Claim– The video depicts a Hindu individual being assaulted in a religious hate crime in Bangladesh.
Fact– The incident is from July 2024, the violent mob and victim belonged to the same community (Muslim). Nothing to do with Hindu individuals.
Related Article: Fact Check: Amid ongoing violence in Bangladesh, old photo of unconscious Hindu man resurfaced as recent incident – D-Intent Data
