Recently, a video has been spread on social media with the claim that a Hindu housewife was raped in Bangladesh, after which she and her two children had their throats slit and were killed.

See some posts circulated on Facebook here (Archive), here (Archive), and here (Archive).

Fact-check

The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that the woman murdered in the circulated video was not a follower of the Hindu religion. Instead, the murdered woman was Mayna Begum (25), the wife of Rafiqul Islam. Additionally, the two murdered children were Rafiqul Islam’s daughter, Raisa Akhter (7), and son, Md. Nirob (2).

During the investigation, a video report broadcast on the YouTube channel of the mainstream media outlet Jamuna TV on July 14 was found. The footage in this video matches the viral video.

The Jamuna TV report states that on the morning of July 15, a garment worker named Rafiqul Islam found the bodies of his wife and two children in his rented home in the T&T Road area of Bhaluka municipality in Mymensingh.

Rafiqul Islam’s brother, Nazrul Islam, lived in the same house. Police recovered a daa (a type of large knife) from Nazrul’s room and suspected his involvement in the killings.

The deceased were identified as Rafiqul Islam’s wife, Mayna Begum (25), daughter Raisa Akhter (7), and son Md. Nirob (2).

Furthermore, Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, and bdnews24 published news reports with the same information.

Therefore, it is easily discernible from the names that the murdered woman was a Muslim. However, the allegation that his wife, Mayna Begum, was raped could not be confirmed.

Notably, the accused, Nazrul Islam, was later arrested by the railway police from the Joydebpur railway station on the afternoon of July 15.

Thus, a Muslim mother and her two children murdered in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, were falsely portrayed as Hindu; which is completely false.