Video shows restaurant set on fire in Bangladesh during protests, not Hindu temple

"One more Hindu temple was set on fire by Bangladeshi barbarian Islamists. Share this widely and let the world see this epic barbarism," read the caption of a Facebook post on August 6, 2024.  

Protests in Bangladesh began in July with rallies led by university students against civil service job quotas but soon escalated into deadly unrest and demands that then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina step down. 

Rights groups and diplomats in Bangladesh raised concerns at reports of attacks on minorities including Hindus, a day after the prime minister was ousted following mass protests on August 5. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said at least 10 Hindu temples were attacked by "miscreants", AFP reported. 

Some businesses and homes owned by Hindus were also attacked following Hasina's ousting.

The security situation in the South Asian country has since dramatically improved but there have been reports of revenge attacks on supporters of Hasina and officials of her Awami League party.

The 13-second video shows a building engulfed in flames.

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Screenshot of the false post taken on August 9, 2024

The post was shared alongside a similar false claim on Facebook here, here and on X here.  

AFP contacted the local police who confirmed the building in the video was not a Hindu temple.

"It was a restaurant owned by former vice chairman of Upazila Parishad, Kazi Asaduzzaman Shahjada," Mohammad Shahin, officer-in-charge at Kalaroa police station told AFP on August 14.

Protest footage

A reverse image search on Google found a screenshot of the video published by Ajker Patrika, a Bangladesh-based local news outlet, on August 7, 2024 (archived link).

The Bengali headline read, "Attacks on the homes-shops-temples of minorities in different places, rumours also being spread."

The report said the building -- Raj Prasad Restaurant and Resort -- was a restaurant that was set on fire during demonstrations in the southwestern city of Satkhira. The eatery was owned by local Awami League leader Kazi Asaduzzaman Shahjada, it said.

The article included a screenshot from a video live-streamed on a Facebook page on August 6, 2024 (archived link). 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and the video live-streamed on Facebook (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and the video live-streamed on Facebook (right)

As the video started getting traction with false claims, the Facebook page clarified that the building was a restaurant, not a Hindu temple (archived link).

Resident Nadeem Hossain also told AFP that the building is a restaurant, adding that it was not attacked due to the owner's religion.

"My house is right in front of this restaurant which is being falsely shared as a Hindu temple. The owner of this restaurant is a Muslim man and a local leader of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, that is why the protesting crowd set it on fire, there was no communal reason behind it," he told AFP.

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