Old Clip of Student Protests in Bangladesh Shared With False Communal Angle

The video is from a student protest at the Jagannath University in Bangladesh and is being given a communal colour.

(Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide. If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)

A video showing a woman with her hands and legs tied up is being shared on the internet as recent visuals from Bangladesh, amidst the ongoing political crisis in the country.

What do viral posts say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the video with a caption that said, "Hindu Women in Bangladesh! They are being Raped and Killed! Hindus are staring at a Genocide in Bangladesh. These images and videos make you feel so helpless!."

The post had garnered over a million views on the platform when this report was being written.

(More archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here. )

What is the truth?: The video could be traced back to at least 18 July, which predates the ongoing violence that started after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country.

• It showed students staging a protest against the authorities in Jagannath University after a student named 'Fairuz Abontika' died by suicide.

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What led us to the truth?: Taking the help of Google Lens, we executed a reverse image search and found the same visuals uploaded on a Facebook page named 'addiction'.

• The video was posted on 26 July and its caption when translated to English said, "Student League Leader."

• A closer look showed the text "Jagannath University" written in the background.

Taking this forward, we performed a keyword search in Bengali with words "student league jagannath university" on Facebook.

• This directed us to several posts with the same video uploaded on 18 July. You can view them here and here.

• One of the posts uploaded on 18 July by a user named 'Shanzida Mostary Ruba' clarified that the person seen in the video is actually a student of the Jagannath University's music department.

• The user further mentioned that the visuals are from a silent protest against the death of a student named "Abantika."

Other sources: Another Facebook handle named 'JnU Short Stories' shared the video and mentioned that it is being falsely linked to the recent happenings in the country.

• The caption mentioned that the woman is actually a student of Jagannath University, and the clip was recorded as part of a protest against the death of Abontika.

• The handle further said that the woman seen in the video is going through trauma because of such rumours.

News reports: A report published in The Daily Star said that students protested at the university to demand justice for Fairuz Abontika, who died by suicide.

• As per her classmates, Abontika had written a post before her death alleging sexual harassment against a student and the inaction of an assistant professor who refused to take action.

• The report mentioned that both accused have been suspended from the university.

• Students have expressed their outrage after the tragic incident. They held a protest rally and paraded the campus raising slogans.

• The rally also demanded the immediate arrest of Assistant Professor Deen Islam and the accused, Raihan Siddique Amman.

• Team WebQoof found visuals from the protests published on the official YouTube channel of 'SOMOY TV'.

• The video was uploaded on 18 March, and its title, when translated to English, said, "Oppressed Avantika returned to Jagannath campus! | Abantika | Jagannath University | Student Protest."

• We noticed that some individuals were seen with their hands tied and mouth taped as well as several people carrying posters.

• At around the 1:04 timestamp of the video, one can see a girl wearing the same attire as seen in the viral clip.

• A comparison between keyframes from the viral video to visuals available on YouTube showed that both of them were from the same incident.

Conclusion: It is evident that a video from a student protest in Jagannath University is being shared with a false communal angle.

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