Video shows Bangladesh govt supporters fleeing violence, not attack targeting Hindus

Warning: graphic footage

"See how Hindu students are hanging from the ledge after Jamaat attacked a Hindu hostel in Dhaka. See how many fell from above," read the Bengali-language caption to a graphic Facebook video published on July 22, 2024, referring to supporters of the country's largest Islamist party.

The video, which was viewed more than 3,300 times, shows a group of people trying to climb down the pipes of a six-storey building, with some clinging to ledges while two people fall to the ground.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on August 15, 2024

The video surfaced during student-led protests against civil service job quotas, a movement which ultimately prompted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5 (archived link).

In the week after Hasina was ousted, religious rights groups said they documented more than 200 incidents of attacks on minority communities, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists (archived link). 

The video also made the rounds in similar Facebook posts about the protests here and here.  

But the video was not filmed in Dhaka and the attack was not religiously motivated.

Attack on pro-Hasina activists

According to the officer in charge of the city's Panchlaish Model Police Station, the incident happened in Chattogram -- about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Dhaka.

Santosh Chakma said a case was filed with his police station over the attack, which happened in the city's Belal Masjid area.

"People seen jumping and hanging (from the building) were the members of different political wings of Awami League," he told AFP on August 19.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip found the same video had been published on Facebook on July 16 (archived link).

"Everyone who was thrown from the rooftop in Chattogram was a Chhatra League activist,” said the post, in reference to the student wing of Hasina's Awami League.

Nurul Azim Rony, the former general secretary of the Chhatra League in Chattogram, told AFP that he was leading the pro-government group on July 16.

"All the injured in that incident are Chhatra League and (youth wing) Jubo League leaders and activists. At least four of them are incumbent leaders. And it was not a religious conflict," he said.

The Financial Express newspaper reported on July 17 that multiple people were either thrown from the building or fell during the attack (archived link). 

Below is a screenshot comparison between the falsely shared video (left) and a photo of same building that was published by The Financial Express (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared video (left) and a photo of same building that was published by The Financial Express (right)

The incident was also covered by The Daily Observer newspaper (archived link).

AFP has debunked several claims related to the unrest in Bangladesh here.