Durga Puja Pandal Showing Namaz Timings is From Bangladesh, Not West Bengal

The photograph was taken at a Durga puja pandal set up by Uttara Sarbojonin Puja Committee in Bangladesh's Dhaka.

A photograph showing timings for Namaz (Islamic prayers) written on a board in front of an idol of Goddess Durga has been shared by several users with a claim that it was from West Bengal during the recently concluded Durga puja festival.

However, the viral image shows a pandal set up by Uttara Sarbojonin Puja Committee in Bangladesh's Dhaka wherein the organisation put the poster carrying the Namaz timings so that the devotees are aware of the timings and to avoid any disturbances.

CLAIM

Sharing the photograph, Facebook user 'Uday Barad' wrote, "This is TMC sponsored Durga Puja in WB. It is mainly aimed at FIXING THE TIME TO STOP reciting Mantras and singing ritual songs when the 'NAMAZ' of Muslim community starts. (sic)"

"The timing of NAMAZ is displayed on the board which is seen in front of Ma Durga. I wonder whether this is the same state where Rabindranath Tagore was born! (sic)," the post read.

Screenshots of the post were shared by several other users on Facebook, archives of which can be found here and here. We also found the same claim made on Twitter.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Upon checking the photograph closely, we found the name of the organisers mentioned at the bottom of the poster as 'Uttara Sarbojonin Puja Committee' in Bengali, which is a committee based out of Bangladesh.

We then conducted a reverse image search of the viral photograph that lead us to news reports published by Bangladeshi news outlets on 14 and 15 October.

The article published in Daily Pioneer News quoted a member of the Uttara Sarbojonin Puja Committee, who said that the poster was put up to not play music during the Namaz timings and since people from the Hindu community don't remember the timings of Islamic prayers.

VIRAL IMAGE IS FROM BANGLADESH

Next, we contacted Rumor Scanner, an independent fact-checking organisation based in Bangladesh, who helped us in finding social media posts of the people who went to the Uttara Puja Pandal.

By matching visual elements from the viral photograph with the posts found on social media, we could ascertain that the pandal was indeed from Bangladesh.

We also came across a video report published on news organisation Dhaka 24's Facebook page that talked about the pandal in question and visuals of the idol seen in the report matched with the idol in the viral image.

Meanwhile, fact-checking organisation BOOM contacted the Uttara Sarbojonin Puja Committee and spoke with their general secretary, Nani Gopal Ghosh, who confirmed that the poster was put up by them.

Talking to BOOM, Ghosh said that since many musical instruments are played during the Puja festivities, it was decided to put up the poster so that people don't play the music for 20-30 minutes and that it does not hinder the Islamic prayers.

Evidently, a photograph from a Durga Puja pandal in Bangladesh was shared with a misleading claim stating that it was from West Bengal.

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