Video Shows Hindu Temple Burnt in Bangladesh? No, It Is a Restaurant!

The restaurant's name is Raj Prasad Restaurant Kalaroa in Sathkira which was put on fire on 5 August.

Fact-Check: This is a restaurant and not a temple.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video showing a building on fire is being shared to claim that a temple was burned in Bangladesh amid the ongoing tensions in the country.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

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

Is this true?: No, the claim is false.

• The video shows a restaurant named Raj Prasad Coffee Shop in the Sathkira district in Bangladesh.

What we found: We divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across a news report by Kalbela which featured a similar image to a few frames of the video. It stated that following Sheikh Hasina’s departure from the country, people vandalised and put fire on several locations. It didn’t mention anything about a Hindu temple.

Here is the preview of the newspaper report. 

(Source: Kalbela/Screenshot)

• The search results also showed us a post on Facebook. It stated that the video showed a restaurant in Satkhira.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

• We, then, undertook a relevant keyword search to check the location of the place and found a video on YouTube from 3 January.

• It stated that the name of the place was Raj Palace Coffee Shop & Restaurant Kalaroa, Satkhira.

• We geolocated this place on Google Maps street view and found comparisons.

Here is a comparison between the two.

(Source: Google Maps/Screenshot) 

• A report by AjkerPatrika mentioned how misinformation was being spread in the name of temples being attacked in Bangladesh.

• They mentioned the instance of this case and noted that the video showed Raj Prasad Coffee Shop and Restaurant, which is owned by Kazi Asaduzzaman Shahzadar, the former Vice Chairman of Kalaroa Upazila and Upazila President of Jubo League.

Conclusion: This video showing a building structure on fire has been falsely identified as a temple in Bangladesh.

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