Recently, a video titled “On the way back home from abroad, attacked by extortionists — Ya Allah, what is happening in this country” has been circulated on social media.
A Facebook user shared this video and urged expatriate Bangladeshis to stop sending remittances to the country.
At the start of the investigation, a video was found posted on July 7 on an Instagram account named ‘Mo.Of.Everything’ titled “A video of Kanwariyas attacking a Muslim family has gone viral on social media.” The scenes in this video closely resemble those in the one being falsely circulated with the claim.
Watch some of the videos circulated on Facebook Here, Here, Here, Here, here
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the circulated video is not related to any incident in Bangladesh where an expatriate was attacked by extortionists on their way home. Rather, it is footage from an incident that occurred in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India.
At the start of the investigation, a video was found posted on July 7 on an Instagram account named ‘Mo.Of.Everything’ titled “A video of Kanwariyas attacking a Muslim family has gone viral on social media.” The scenes in this video closely resemble those in the one being falsely circulated with the claim.
According to the caption of the video, on July 5, Hindu pilgrims known as Kanwariyas were returning from Haridwar carrying holy water for Lord Shiva. During this time, they accused a moving car of damaging their Kanwar (a decorative structure for carrying holy water). Following this, they chased and assaulted a Muslim family — including women and children — and vandalized their car on the street.
Based on information from the above-mentioned post, an article was found on the website of Indian English-language news outlet The Free Press Journal, published on July 6 under the headline “Video: Kanwariyas Vandalise Car, Assault Muslim Family After Minor Accident In Uttarakhand’s Haridwar; FIR Registered.”
According to the report, during the Kanwar pilgrimage in Manglaur, Haridwar, Kanwariyas vandalized a car and assaulted its occupants — including women and children — after accusing the vehicle of bumping into them. After the video went viral, police registered an FIR, and the matter was resolved through a discussion between both parties.
Therefore, it can be confirmed that the circulated video is not related to any incident in Bangladesh.
In conclusion, a video showing an incident that took place in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, is being falsely spread on social media, claiming it shows an expatriate in Bangladesh being attacked by extortionists on their way home, which is false.
Sources
- Mo.Of.Everything: Instagram Video
- The Free Press Journal: Website News
- Rumor Scanner’s analysis
