Old Clip From Pakistan Falsely Shared as People Vandalising Temple in Bangladesh

Fact-check: An old video of Muslim mob vandalising a Hindu temple in Pakistan is being falsely shared as a recent video from Bangladesh.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video showing a mob vandalising a Hindu temple is going viral to claim that it shows Muslims attacking a temple in Bangladesh.

The claim further states that a Muslim mob attacked the temple after Hindus installed a Ganpati statue.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This video dates back to 2021 and is from Pakistan, not Bangladesh.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on Google using some of the keyframes from the viral video.

• This led us to a YouTube video shared by Hindustan Times on 5 August 2021.

• The title read, "Hindu temple attacked in Pakistan, mob rampage on camera; India slams Imran govt".

• The description stated that a Hindu temple was allegedly attacked in Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan area on 4 August 202.

• Taking a cue, we performed a relevant keyword search on Google using 'Pakistan Hindu temple vandalised 2021' and this led us to several reports carrying screenshots from the viral video.

• This was reported by The Times of India, Free Press Journal, DW and India Today.

• The reports stated that a Muslim mob vandalised a Hindu temple to show their anger after a court granted bail to an 8-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a local religious school.

• It also added that the Hindu boy had been arrested after allegedly urinating on a carpet in a school library housing Islamic religious texts.

Reports of disturbances in Bangladesh: According to reports, Ganesh Chaturthi procession was allegedly attacked in Bangladesh’s Chittagong on 7 September 2024.

• It added that the attackers allegedly threw hot water on the idol and on the devotees.

• However, this video is unrelated to that incident.

Conclusion: An old video of Muslim mob vandalising a Hindu temple in Pakistan is being falsely shared as a recent video from Bangladesh.

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