2017 Bulletin on Hindus Killed in Myanmar Passed off as Kolkata

The Zee News bulletin talks about a Rohingya armed group killing Hindus in Myanmar's Rakhine State and not Kolkata.

The bulletin dates back to September 2017 and talks about a Rohingya armed group killing Hindus in Myanmar's Rakhine State, not Kolkata as claimed.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A clipped version of a bulletin aired by media outlet Zee News is being shared to claim that Rohingyas killed several Hindus in West Bengal's Kolkata and that as many as 1,000 Hindus have disappeared.

However, we found that the bulletin dates back to September 2017 and talks about a Rohingya armed group killing Hindus in Myanmar's Rakhine State, not Kolkata as claimed.

CLAIM

The claim along with the 02:20-minute long video reads: 'पश्चिम बंगाल #कोलकाता के एक छोटे गांव से एक हजार हिन्दू आदमी छोटे बच्चे तथा बड़े मिला कर गायब हो गए हैं। अभी तक 45 शव बरामद किए गए हैं शांतिदूत रोहिंग्याफ़ओं ने हिंदूओं का कत्ल कर दिया,आप सेकुलरिज्म की चादर ओढ़ कर सोते रहो।सब का नम्बर आएगा। (sic)'

(Translated: 1,000 Hindu men, including small children and the elderly, have disappeared from a small village in West Bengal's Kolkata. So far, 45 bodies have been recovered, peaceful Rohingyas have killed Hindus.)

You can view the archived version here.

(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

The video shared by Facebook user 'Subodh Kashyap' had been viewed over 1,400 times at the time of publishing the article.

The video is massively viral on Facebook with the same claim and the archived version of the posts can be viewed here, here and here.

(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We listened to the viral video carefully and noticed that anchor Sudhir Chaudhary mentioned the area as Rakhine, which is situated in Myanmar.

We then searched on Google with keywords 'Myanmar Hindus Zee News' and came across a Zee News bulletin uploaded on their YouTube handle on 27 September 2017.

The viral portion can be heard from 02:59 minutes in the 38-minute long bulletin, which talks about Hindus being killed in Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2017.

ABOUT THE 2017 MASSACRE IN RAKHINE STATE

As per an AFP report published on The Hindu on 25 September 2017, Myanmar's Army found bodies of 28 Hindus in Rakhine State and blamed Rohingya militants for the same.

“Security members found and dug up 28 dead bodies of Hindus who were cruelly and violently killed by ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army)...in Rakhine State,” AFP reported quoting a statement available on the Army chief’s website.

The government had said that on 25 August 2017, Rohingya insurgents had launched an attack on over 30 police posts in Rakhine, a BBC report mentioned. The insurgents reportedly carried knives and home-made bombs and as many as 12 members of security forces were killed in the attack.

More than 6,50,000 Rohingyas fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in the Rakhine State in August 2017. Meanwhile, thousands of Hindus fled villages as well post the August 2017 attack.

Further, a 2018 report published on Amnesty International revealed how ARSA spread fear among different communities including Hindus with their attacks in Rakhine State.

Evidently, a Zee News bulletin from 2017 reporting an incident that took place in Myanmar was used to falsely claim that it shows Rohingyas killing Hindus in West Bengal's Kolkata.

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