False Communal Angle Given to a Video of a Bangladeshi Mayor Swimming Away

This video shows Mayor of Akhaura, Takzil Khalifa Kajal, swimming away from the mob who were attacking him.

A video showing a man jumping into a water body in Bangladesh is going viral online to claim that it shows a person from the Hindu community escaping the Muslim mob who were allegedly attacking him.

• The claim further adds that he was swimming away after his wife and daughter were allegedly abducted and raped by the mob.

• It also states that this man was "stoned to death inside the water".

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

What's the truth?: This video shows Mayor of Akhaura, Takzil Khalifa Kajol, swimming away from the mob who were attacking him.

• It has been given a false communal twist.

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How did we find out the truth?: We reached out to Qadaruddin Shishir, Bangladesh Fact Check Editor at AFP news agency who told us that this viral claim is false.

"There is no communal angle involved in this incident. This specific video shows a Muslim mayor fleeing in Akhaura," he added.

Taking a cue, we performed a relevant keyword search in Bengali on Google and this led us to several news reports about this incident.

• This was reported by Bangladeshi outlets namely The Daily Campus, Jamuna TV, Juktadhara, Mzamin and Dhaka Post.

• The reports stated that following former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resignation and escape from the country, several instances of attacks on Awami League leaders were reported nationwide.

• It further mentioned that this video shows Mayor of Akhaura municipality, Takzil Khalifa Kajol, swimming away to escape from the mob attacking him.

• It does not mention anything about a Hindu person being attacked in the video.

A video report shared by Jamuna TV also shows this incident from a different angle.

Conclusion: A false communal twist is being given to a video of a man swimming away to escape a mob in Bangladesh.

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