Recently, a video circulated on the social media platform X claimed that a Muslim youth named Abdul Hakim abducted a Hindu girl named Anjana Roy in Naogaon, Bangladesh. According to the post, when the girl’s father, Haradhan Roy, protested the alleged abduction, he was assaulted by Muslims. The video appears to show a group of people beating a man.
Fact-check
Investigations conducted by the Rumor Scanner team reveal that no such incident of abduction or assault took place in Naogaon. In reality, the video being circulated relates to a separate incident involving Nirmolendu Das, also known as Rana, a former General Secretary of the Nabiganj Municipal Unit of the Awami League and Chairman of the Kargaon Union in Habiganj, Sylhet.
The video in question was originally posted on Facebook by a user named Murad Ahmed, who identifies as a journalist. On May 13, he uploaded a video captioned, “Nabiganj’s Kargaon UP Chairman Nirmolendu Das Rana was handed over to police after being beaten in Sylhet.” A portion of this video matches the footage being used in the misleading claim.
Based on keywords from the post, a search led to a report published by the online news outlet bdnews24.com on May 14 titled, “Public hands over UP chairman to police after assault in Sylhet.” The article includes a photo of the assaulted man, which corresponds with the individual shown in the circulated video frame.
The report stated, “In Sylhet city, the public beat and handed over a UP chairman, who is also an Awami League leader, to the police. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. According to Mohammad Saiful Islam, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, the man—Nirmolendu Das Rana—was apprehended around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, in the Rikabibazar area. He is the chairman of the Kargaon Union Parishad in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj and a former General Secretary of the Nabiganj Municipal Awami League.”
Similar information about the assaulted individual is also found in a report published by Prothom Alo.
Therefore, the video showing the assault of an Awami League leader from Habiganj, Sylhet, has been falsely circulated with the claim that Muslims assaulted the father of a Hindu girl in Naogaon in retaliation for protesting her abduction by a Muslim youth. This claim is false.
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Fact-Check Alert
Please be aware of misleading information about Bangladesh politics on social media and verify sources before sharing.
Before sharing any photocard, always verify it by checking the original media source.
Sharing religious misinformation and disinformation can cause harm. Always verify before sharing.
Before sharing any photocard, always verify it by checking the original media source.
Sharing religious misinformation and disinformation can cause harm. Always verify before sharing.