A video widely circulated on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook since the morning of Sunday, December 2, claims to show the destruction of a Hindu temple in Bangladesh on December 1. By the time this report was published, the video had garnered approximately 11,000 combined views.
However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team reveals that the video does not depict the vandalism of any temple in Bangladesh. Instead, it shows an incident involving the demolition of the Ali Pagla shrine in Sirajganj. Furthermore, the video is not recent and dates back to August 29 of this year, not December 1.
Fact-Check:
Upon conducting a reverse image search of key frames from the circulated video, the team traced it to a Facebook page named "ProbashiJibon." A video posted on August 29 matches the footage in question. The caption of the original video identifies it as footage of the demolition of the shrine of Hazrat Baba Ali Pagla (R.A.) in South Kumarbari, Ward No. 9, Mansurnagar, Kazipur, Sirajganj.
Further checks revealed multiple Facebook accounts had also posted the video on August 29, identifying it as the demolition of the Ali Pagla shrine. A report published on the mainstream news website Kalbela titled "Shrine Demolition in Kazipur" corroborates the incident. According to the report, several locals stated that the mosque’s imam, Golam Rabbani, and his associates carried out the destruction of the shrine on August 29.
The Kalbela report further notes that the imam responsible for the incident was dismissed from his position by local villagers following the vandalism. Similar reports in KalerKantho and bdnews24.com also verify the details of the shrine demolition.
It is worth mentioning that while this particular video does not depict temple vandalism, recent incidents involving attacks on temples in Bangladesh have been reported. On November 29, there was an attack on a temple in Patharghata, Chattogram, and another incident occurred on November 28 in Patiya Upazila of the same district.
The video being circulated on social media falsely claims to show the destruction of a Hindu temple in Bangladesh. It is, in reality, footage of the August 29 demolition of the Ali Pagla shrine in Sirajganj. This misinformation has been debunked as part of a deliberate effort to mislead the public.
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.