A video of a woman and a teenage girl in distress has recently circulated on the X platform, accompanied by claims that a Hindu businessman named Bikash Chandra was murdered by an Islamist named Mohammad Imran for allegedly refusing to pay a sum of 70,000 taka as ‘jizya tax.’ The posts assert that religious extortion and persecution of minorities are occurring in the country without obstruction. In essence, the incident has been portrayed in a communal context.

Fact-Check

The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that the killing of Bikash Chandra is not a recent incident. Rather, it occurred in 2023, and the video related to the event is now being reshared on social media with a communal framing. No evidence has been found suggesting any religious motivation behind the murder.

A further search led to the discovery of the same video posted on June 10, 2023, by the X account ‘Avro Neel.’ The video description identifies the location as Chandina, Comilla. In the video, the grieving woman says that she and six others had purchased a pickup van. A neighbor named Arju demanded a contribution of one lakh taka for the vehicle. She claims that her husband was killed for refusing to pay this amount.

Further investigation uncovered a report published in the daily Jugantor on June 6, 2023. According to the report, in Chandina Upazila of Comilla, Bikash Chandra Das (42) was beaten to death after refusing to rent out a pickup van. The accused, Md. Azizul Islam Azu (28), is a resident of Barkarai Andirpara village in the same upazila.

Eyewitnesses and neighbors of the deceased—Shrikanta Chandra Das, Badal Chandra Das, and Hriday Chandra Das—stated that a cricket match was taking place near Gautam’s fish project in Narachong village. Bikash Chandra Das was watching the game when Azu suddenly approached him, allegedly under the pretext of claiming dues, and began to punch and beat him indiscriminately. When Bikash collapsed, he was taken to a private hospital in Nawabpur Bazar. As his condition worsened, he was later transferred to Chandina Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead in the evening.

The victim’s son, Jhalak Das, stated that Azu had called his father three or four days earlier asking to rent the pickup van. As Azu had a poor repayment record, his father declined. Jhalak believes this led to the fatal attack.

According to another report published in the local media outlet Cumillar Zamin, following the incident, police from Chandina Police Station arrested the accused, Azizul Haque Azu, in Dhaka on June 26 during a raid.

There is no evidence in any of the media reports, video analyses, or other sources indicating that the murder was motivated by religious reasons. Likewise, the claim regarding ‘jizya tax’ or religious extortion has no supporting evidence.

Therefore, the murder that occurred in 2023 over a dispute related to pickup rental has been falsely presented as a recent communal killing, which is misleading.

Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/cumilla-old-video-used-for-communal-killing-claim/155247