Recently, a video titled “The so-called new Bangladesh of illegal Yunus is actually a terrifying, democracy-destroying form. Instead of state protection and justice, mobs are being formed in front of the police to beat people to death. This is not only a defeat of the rule of law, but also a naked manifestation of a barbaric and anarchic social system.” has spread online.
In the video, a group of people is seen beating up a person in front of police officers. At the same time, a woman is seen trying to protect someone.
See the Facebook post here (Archive).
See the post shared on X (formerly Twitter) here (Archive), and here (Archive).
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation revealed that the video claiming a person was publicly beaten to death in front of police officers is neither recent nor from the time of the interim government. In fact, the video is from January of last year. Moreover, the individual who was attacked in the video did not die. He is alive.
The investigation found a Facebook post published on January 16 of last year from an account named Romjan Ali Robel in a Facebook group called ‘ঐতিহ্যবাহী বরমী – Oitijjobahi Barmi’. You can see that post here. The video in that post matches the viral video in question.
The post claimed that it was a tragic incident from Goyeshpur village in Gafargaon upazila of Mymensingh. First, a murderer publicly hacked a homeopathy doctor to death. Later, the mother of another accused murderer cried out in despair trying to save her son from being lynched by the public.
Upon examining the Romjan Ali Robel account, it was found that he is a local journalist from Mymensingh.
Following that lead, a keyword search brought up a relevant report published on January 15, 2024, on the website of Prothom Alo titled “BNP leader hacked to death in broad daylight in Gafargaon”.
That report states: “On the afternoon of February 15 last year, a BNP leader named Harun Or Rashid (age 55) was hacked to death in Goyeshpur Bazaar under Paithel Union of Gafargaon upazila in Mymensingh. Immediately after the incident, Rubel Mia, accused of involvement in the murder, was caught and beaten by local people before being handed over to the police. The accused Rubel Mia is a resident of Neoka village in the same union.”
A similar report with the same details was published on the Manabzamin website as well: “BNP leader publicly hacked to death”.
Conclusion
Therefore, a video showing a person being mob-beaten in Mymensingh in January of last year over allegations of murder was falsely shared as a recent incident where someone was beaten to death in public in front of police officers. The viral video is not from recent times, and the person being beaten in the video is alive. This claim is false.
Sources
- Romjan Ali Robel – Facebook Post
- Prothom Alo – “BNP leader hacked to death in broad daylight in Gafargaon”
