Recently, a massive fire broke out at Madhaiya Bazaar in Chandina, Comilla. Following the incident, claims began circulating on social media, alleging that the fire was deliberately set by Muslims to target Hindu shops.
A post shared on X (formerly Twitter) claimed: “Bangladesh: Islamist Mob Attacks #Hindu Shops in Madhaiya Bazar, Chandina, Comilla; Looting and Arson Blamed on Stove Flame.”
Another user on X, @IndianSinghh, shared the video with the caption: “117 Hindu shops have been burnt to ashes in Bangladesh by Terr0rists. No one will care, No one will speak. Because shops belong to Hindus.”
Another handle shared the video with Hindi captions that translate to: “These burning homes, buildings, and commercial establishments you see— They belong to Hindus, being set ablaze by Bangladeshi Muslims. Bangladesh’s Chandina in Comilla is home to a large Hindu-owned market, Madhaiya Bazaar.”
Fact-Check
Rumor Scanner confirmed that the claim of Muslims burning Hindu shops in Madhaiya Bazaar is false. The fire broke out from a suspected gas stove in a shop, affecting numerous shops in the bazaar. Of the 73 shops affected, only 6 are owned by Hindus, while the majority belong to Muslims.
Upon Investigation, we confirmed that the video is from the fire at Madhaiya Bazar as it mentioned in the claims post. A report by The Business Standard about the fire incident mentioned, “More than 100 shops have been burnt to ashes in a massive fire at Madhaiya Bazaar, located on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, in Comilla’s Chandina upazila.
The fire started around Sunday midnight. Six firefighting units brought the blaze under control at around 3:30am today (30 December) after three hours of effort, fire officials said.
Madhaiya Bazaar Traders Association President KM Jamal said, “The fire has gutted more than 100 shops. Most of us have lost everything. We are trying to determine the extent of losses.”
Comilla Fire Service and Civil Defence’s Acting Assistant Director Newton Das said the fire originated from a sweets shop and spread to the bazaar very quickly.”
The Station Officer of the Fire Service in Chandina, Comilla, Anoy Ghosh, said, “We initially suspect that the fire spread from the stove in the sweet shop. However, one of the main reasons for the rapid spread of the fire was the presence of flammable materials, especially wooden platforms in the area. Additionally, the presence of plastic and polythene products caused the fire to quickly spiral out of control.”
Since the claims suggested that all shops owned by Hindus were deliberately set on fire by Muslims, we reached out to the Madhaiya Bazar Business Association to investigate further. When asked about the cause of the fire and whether all the affected shops were Hindu-owned, the association’s president stated that the fire began at “Salam Mistanno Bhandar,” a sweet shop owned by Md. Salam. He initially estimated that nearly 100 shops were damaged, with 4–5 of them owned by Hindus.
When queried about an official list of the affected shop owners, the president informed us that the list was still being compiled but would be shared once finalized.
In a follow-up, we received photographs of the completed list, which had been prepared by the Business Association for submission to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), seeking government aid.
The list documented that 72 establishments, including the Madhaiya Post Office and Madhaiya Mosque, were damaged. A closer analysis of the list revealed that six of the affected shops were owned by Hindus, while the remaining were owned by Muslims.
Therefore, it was primarily regarded as a fire accident, reportedly originating from a stove in a sweet shop and according to the list, 91.67% of the damaged or fire-affected establishments or shops in the Madhaiya Bazaar fire incident were owned by Muslims.
To sum up, a fire incident occurred in Madhaiya Bazaar, Comilla. A video of the incident was shared on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that Muslims set fire to Hindu shops. However, the claims are false. We found no evidence of any communal motive behind the incident. It was initially reported that the fire originated from a stove in one of the shops. Furthermore, an analysis of the affected shops showed that most were owned by Muslims.
Sources
- Statement of Madhaiya Bazaar Traders’ Association
- Application for government assistance with the names of affected traders
- News reports on the fire incident
- Social media posts about the fire incident
