Video of people heading to religious event falsely linked to West Bengal violence

Published on April 24, 2025 at 12:04
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

Deadly protests erupted in India's West Bengal state after the country passed a bill changing how Muslim-owned properties are managed, but footage of men in Islamic attire being carried on trucks is unrelated to the conflict. Similar videos have in fact circulated since December 2024 in social media posts about an annual Muslim congregation to discuss their faith, which takes place in the central Madhya Pradesh state.

The video of several truckloads of people dressed in Islamic attire being directed along a street was shared on X on April 13, 2025.

"Their preparations are complete, they are ready!! And you..? Bengal," reads the Hindi-language caption.

The post surfaced a day after India deployed troops to quell deadly protests in the state of West Bengal that left three people, including a child, dead, police told AFP. More than 110 people were arrested in connection with the violence (archived link).

The Waqf amendment bill that set off the protests is said to boost transparency around land management by holding accountable powerful Waqf boards, which control properties gifted by Muslim charitable endowments, according to the ruling Hindu nationalist government.

But the opposition has called the bill a polarising "attack" on India's Muslim minority.

Screenshot of the false post April 18, 2025

The video also circulated with similar claims on Facebook and X, appearing to stoke communal sentiments on social media, with one user commenting: "Wake up oh Hindus wake up now."

"Situation in Bengal is horrible", another wrote.

But the footage predates the conflict in West Bengal -- it was filmed in the central Madhya Pradesh state.

A Google reverse image search led to similar clips posted on Instagram on December 5, 2025, with sticker text reading "Bhopal" and the year "2024" (archived link). Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh.

Screenshot of the false post (L) and video available on Instagram

Further searches on the profile "abid.sheik.315" that shared the video led to a similar post with text overlay reading "Ijtima" -- an annual Muslim religious event that takes place in Bhopal (archived link).

According to local media reports, the World Islamic Congregation took place from November 29 to December 2, 2024 and saw 10 to 12 million Muslims take part in prayers and discussions of faith (archived link).

The Times of India reported it concluded with a prayer for "global peace and wellbeing" (archived link).

Using a signboard with the name "Sachin tent suppliers" seen in the circulating video, AFP geolocated the footage to a market in Bhopal (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the Instagram post (L) and Google Maps Street View imagery

The Instagram user who posted the videos of the trucks also reposted a video by Indian fact-checking organisation debunking the false posts (archived link).

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