Recently, a claim has been circulating on social media along with a video showing a fire incident, stating:
“An extremist terrorist group in Bangladesh has set fire to a Buddhist monastery and the surrounding area in Ruma, Bandarban.”
See the post shared on X (formerly Twitter) here (Archive).
See the post shared on Facebook here (Archive).
Fact-check
An investigation by the Rumor Scanner Team found that extremists did not set fire to the Buddhist monastery in Ruma, Bandarban. Instead, the fire originated from an electrical short circuit.
Upon reviewing the posts spreading this claim, no reliable evidence supporting the allegation of an extremist attack was found. Further investigation, utilizing multiple keyframes from the circulated video through a reverse image search, led to a Facebook post by Shawon Barua on February 4, which contained a similar video. The visuals in this video closely match those in the circulated footage.
The caption of the video states:
“Around 7 PM this evening, a Buddhist monastery in Ruma, Bandarban, was completely burned down. The incident took place in Ward No. 1, Paindu, Ruma Upazila, at Mongshoiproo Kar Bari Para. Along with the Buddhist monastery, another structure also burned down. Some belongings could not be salvaged from inside. Everything, including the Buddha statues, was reduced to ashes. According to locals, the fire originated from an electrical fault.”
On February 4, the same day as the fire, a Facebook Live stream by the account ‘Nai Mra Ching Marma’ provided real-time footage of the incident, captioned: “On 04/02/2025, at 7:30 PM, a fire completely destroyed Mongshoiproo Para in Ward No. 1, Paindu Union, Ruma, Bandarban.”
The visuals in this video also match the circulated footage, confirming that the video actually depicts the fire incident in Mongshoiproo Para, Paindu Union, Ruma, Bandarban.
A keyword search found a news report published on February 4 on the Janakantha website, titled ‘Fire in an Abandoned Buddhist Monastery in Bandarban’. The report states:
“A fire burned down an old, abandoned Buddhist monastery room in Ruma Upazila, Bandarban. The fire broke out around 7:30 PM on February 4 in the remote Mongshuthui Para of Paindu Union. According to locals, the fire started due to an electrical short circuit and quickly spread. Since the area is remote and disconnected, firefighters could not reach the site.”
Mong Ch Khoy, a local Union Parishad (UP) member from Ward No. 1, Paindu Union, stated: ‘The fire was caused by an electrical meter short circuit in the abandoned monastery room, which was completely burned down. Fortunately, since there were no settlements nearby, there were no casualties.’
Another report on February 4 from the news outlet Khola Kagoj titled “Buddhist Monastery Burned Down in Ruma“ included a still image of the incident, which matches the circulated video. According to the monastery’s chief monk Indrabansha Bhikkhu,
“The fire started from an electrical wire in the monastery around 7:30 PM on February 4. At that time, my disciple was in the kitchen.”
The same information was corroborated by a Kalbela news report published on February 5. No credible sources have attributed the fire to any extremist group in Bangladesh.
Conclusion
The fire at the Buddhist monastery in Ruma, Bandarban, was caused by an electrical short circuit. The circulation claiming it was an extremist attack is false.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s Own Analysis
- Shawon Barua – Facebook Post
- Nai Mra Ching Marma – Facebook Post
- Janakantha – Fire in Abandoned Buddhist Monastery
- Khola Kagoj – Buddhist Monastery Burned Down in Ruma
- Kalbela – Buddhist Monastery Burned Down in Ruma
