CLAIM
A graphic video which is being claimed as showing Rohingya refugees in West Bengal attacking central forces has gone viral.
The video has been shared by various users on Facebook with this claim.
The same video was also shared on Twitter with a different claim that the West Bengal police “has not spared” even a central vehicle.
(WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO)
The tweet read, “आतंकवादी की सरदाना ममता बेगम की पुलिस ने केंद्र वाहिनी को भी नहीं छोड़ा, इस वीडियो को इलेक्शन कमिशन के पास पहुंचाना है ज्यादा से ज्यादा शेयर कीजिए.”
(Translation: Mamata Begum’s police has not even spared central vehicles. This video should reach the Election Commission quickly, so share as much as you can.)
TRUE OR FALSE?
The video is being circulated with a false claim. According to a news report by News Britant, this particular video was shot on the day when an accident occurred on National Highway 31, which resulted in the death of two locals in Jalpaiguri's Raiganj Chowki area.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
After playing the video, The Quint noticed the logo on the top right corner. We followed up with this logo which said “Britant” and “News”.
Taking these as the key words, The Quint conducted a google search and came across the website of News Britant, a local news channel. The channel has the same logo as the one shown in the viral video.
After this, we used the key words “Bloody” and “Police” in Bengali and searched on the website.
The search led us to the original news report that was published by News Britant on 12 April 2019.
According to the News Britant report, the incident involved an accident on National Highway 31, which resulted in the death of two locals in Jalpaiguri's Raiganj Chowki area.
The police were allegedly busy with providing security cover for politician Abhishek Banerjee's rally nearby and were unable to reach the spot on time.
When they did reach along with four civic volunteers, the frenzied mob reportedly attacked the volunteers in a fit of rage, also attacking the police vehicle in the process. This left the civic volunteers seriously injured.
An additional police force had to be sent to the area to control the mob, officials told News Britant.
Thus, the claim with which the video is doing the rounds does not hold any truth.
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