Scripted clip falsely presented as 'theft by Bangladeshi refugee'

Published on July 16, 2025 at 09:06
Updated on July 16, 2025 at 09:33
2 min read
By Devesh MISHRA, Eyamin SAJID, AFP India

A scripted video depicting a man stealing the mobile phone of a passenger on a moving train has been misrepresented among Indian social media users as footage of a crime committed by a refugee from Bangladesh. Relations between the neighbouring nations have turned icy since a mass uprising toppled Dhaka's previous government.

"These Bangladeshi/Rohingyas live in huts near the railway tracks and indulge in acts of snatching and robbery," reads the Hindi-language caption of a Facebook video posted on July 7, 2025.

The video -- viewed more than 20,000 times -- shows a man using a stick to knock a mobile phone out of the hands of a person filming from a fast-moving train.

The man then grabs the phone, which has fallen near the tracks, and celebrates.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 14, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same video also surfaced in similar Facebook and X posts after India deported hundreds of people to Bangladesh without trial, drawing condemnation from activists and lawyers who called the expulsions illegal and based on ethnic profiling (archived link).

New Delhi says the people deported are undocumented migrants.

Bangladesh, largely encircled by land by India, has seen relations with New Delhi turn icy since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled Dhaka's government, a former friend of India.

India has also been accused of forcibly deporting Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, with navy ships dropping them off the coast of the war-torn nation.

The video circulating online, however, was scripted.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a higher-quality Facebook reel posted on July 1 (archived link).

The false posts use a horizontally flipped version of the video.

"Do not keep your mobile phone and hands outside while travelling," reads its Bengali-language caption, alongside hashtags for "funny reels" and "comedy".

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the original Facebook clip (right)

The video was shared on the Facebook page of Md Rota Mia, a user based in Bangladesh who describes themselves as a comedian. The page also features similarly staged clips (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked other posts misrepresenting scripted videos.

July 16, 2025Updated to add byline

July 16, 2025 Updated to add byline

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