Photo of Hindu idol falsely linked to unrest in Muslim-majority Bangladesh

"The Shiva Linga found at Dhanmondi 32 is the talk of the town now," reads a Facebook post on February 6, 2025, referring to the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

It surfaced as crowds carrying hammers and metal rods tore down the walls of the museum and former home of Hasina's late father, Bangladesh's first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (archived link).

The post -- shared more than 700 times -- includes an image of a Shiva statue overlaid with Bengali-language text reiterating the claim. 

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Screenshot of the false post taken on February 18, 2025

Religious relations have been turbulent in Bangladesh after Hasina's ouster on August 5, 2024, with a string of reprisals on Hindus seen by some as having backed her regime (archived link).

The recent protests were triggered in response to reports that the 77-year-old former leader -- who has defied an arrest warrant to face trial in Dhaka for massacres -- would appear in a Facebook broadcast from India where she remains in exile.

The Shiva statue photo has also been shared alongside similar false claims elsewhere on Facebook and on the website of online news portal Barta Bazar. 

But a reverse image search on Google found a wider version of the picture shared on X on May 8, 2020 (archived link). 

"Parasurameswara Temple in Gudimallam Andhra Pradesh," the post reads. "The unique Shiva Lingam is the oldest on the planet. Shiva temple identified so far tracing to 300 BCE."

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Screenshot comparison of the photo in the false posts (L) and the picture shared on X in 2020

Further keyword searches found the image in a set of photos published by news outlet India.com on November 7, 2023 (archived link).

The photo album is titled, "10 Extremely Rare Shiva Lingas". Text overlaid on the picture reads, "Gudimallam Parashurameswarar Temple. Andhra Pradesh."

Gudimallam Parashurameswarar Temple, popularly known as Parasurameswara Temple, is located in southern Tirupati city of Andhra Pradesh state in India. The image shared in false posts can be also seen on the temple's website (archived link).

Ramchandra Reddy, a spokesperson for the temple, told AFP on February 10: "This ancient idol is of Lord Shiva located in Parasurameswara temple in Guddimala. Many photos are available on the Internet but we cannot say who took this one."

The unrest in Bangladesh has sparked a wave of misinformation that AFP has debunked here, here and here.