Recently, an image showing several burned cows inside a charred cattle shed has been widely circulated on social media, with claims that Muslims set fire to a Hindu man’s cattle shed and burned the cows alive in Bangladesh.
An X handle named Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus posted the image with the claim: “In Nilphamari, the followers of Yunus have inhumanely set fire to a Hindu man’s cattle shed, burning the helpless cows to death. #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus”
Another handle shared the same photo with the caption: “Gaumatas bu₹nt alive; Hindu man’s cattle shed set on fire by Islamists”
Some posts making the claim can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.
Fact-Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation confirmed that the cattle shed fire occurred in Brahmanbaria in December 2024, and not in Nilphamari or recently. The claim that the burned cattle shed belonged to a Hindu is false; the owner of the cow and cattle shed is a Muslim. It is preliminarily believed that the fire was caused by an electrical accident.
While investigating we found the same image in a Facebook post in a livestock related group dated 10 December 2024. The post states that the fire occurred in a cattle shed in Baluati, Krishnanagar, Nabinagar, Brahmanbaria, on December 9, burning six cows and one goat to ashes. The fire started early in the morning in the shed owned by Md. Bedan Mia, the son of Dewan Ali from the village. It is believed that the fire occured due to an electric short circuit.
Screenshot : Facebook post
Further investigation led us to a report on the fire incident published on December 10, 2024. The report used the same image as the article’s feature image. It stated, “In the village of Baluati, Krishnanagar, Nabinagar, Brahmanbaria, a fire broke out in a cattle shed, burning six cows and one goat to ashes. The incident occurred early in the morning on Monday, December 9, in the shed owned by Md. Bedan Mia, the son of Dewan Ali from the village.
Md. Bedan Mia said, ‘I was suddenly awakened by the sound of the cows in the early morning. When I got up, I saw that my cattle shed was on fire. Despite trying hard to control the fire, by the time I managed to do so, six cows and one goat in the shed had already been burned to ashes. The fire caused me a loss of nearly 15 lakh taka. Everything is lost. These cows and goats were my only assets. Now I don’t know what to do. I feel devastated.’”
Later, we found a report from the local Upazila administration, which provided assistance to the affected farmer, Md. Bedan Mia, with some aid.
So, the farmer is a Muslim, and the fire occurred in Brahmanbaria in December 2024, primarily believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit. Therefore, the claim that a Hindu man’s cattle shed and cows were set on fire by a Muslim in Bangladesh is false.
