On March 17, a video was circulated on X claiming that Islamists set fire to Hindu homes in Kushakhali Union, Lakshmipur district. Additionally, a long video was shared on Facebook alleging that members of Jamaat-BNP had recently set fire to Hindu homes in the same area.
Watch the video circulated on X here: Here (Archive), Here (Archive).
Watch the video circulated on Facebook: Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive), Here (Archive).
Fact-Check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that the claim of Islamists setting fire to Hindu homes in Kushakhali Union, Lakshmipur district is false. The incident had no political involvement; instead, a gas cylinder explosion was misrepresented as a communal attack.
A related video was found on the Facebook page ‘Lakshmipur Breaking News’ published on March 18: Watch here.
The video confirms that on the night of March 17, a fire broke out at Thakur Bari, near Janata College, in East Kalyanpur, Kushakhali Union, Lakshmipur Sadar Upazila. Local residents and a fire service unit brought the fire under control.
A voiceover in the video, citing locals, states that the fire started due to a gas cylinder explosion in the kitchen of Drijendranal Acharya’s house. The fire quickly spread, burning the homes of Dulal Acharya, Purbi Rani Pal, and Suresh Chandra Pal. Dulal Acharya’s disabled son, Roni Acharya, was burned as he could not escape in time.
A report from the local news site Lakshmipur24, published on March 17, corroborates this information: Read here.
According to this report, the explosion burned two residential houses and two kitchens. Roni Acharya, a disabled youth, sustained burns on 70-80% of his body. The fire was controlled with the help of locals and the fire service.
The report, quoting locals, confirms that the fire started due to a gas cylinder explosion in Drijendranal Acharya’s kitchen. The fire spread rapidly, burning neighboring homes. Roni Acharya, unable to escape in time, was severely burned and was first taken to Lakshmipur, then to Noakhali, and finally to the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College.
Lakshmipur Sadar Upazila Daserhat Police Outpost in-charge Md. Mahbubur Rahman stated in the report that the fire started in the kitchen due to a gas cylinder explosion in the evening. The fire spread rapidly, burning two residential houses and two kitchens, injuring one disabled youth.
The report also quotes Lakshmipur Fire Service Station Officer Ranjit Kumar Saha, who stated that it took an hour and a half to fully control the fire. Four houses were burned—two residential houses and two kitchens. The estimated damage is approximately 1.2 million BDT (12 lakh).
Reports from Dhaka Mail and Daily Inqilab confirm that the fire was caused by a gas cylinder explosion.
In summary, no involvement of Islamists or Jamaat-BNP was found in the fire that broke out in the minority community’s homes in Kushakhali Union, Lakshmipur Sadar Upazila.
Conclusion
Thus, the fire caused by a gas cylinder explosion in Kushakhali Union, Lakshmipur, was falsely spread online as a communal attack allegedly carried out by Jamaat-BNP, which is misleading.
