Video shows crocodile attack victim in India, not Bangladesh

After a fisherman was killed by a crocodile in the Sundarbans forests in southern Bangladesh in September 2025, social media users shared a video falsely claiming it showed another attack in the western Kushtia district. The clip was actually filmed in neighbouring India. 

"Crocodiles are spotted in various rivers of Bangladesh in an alarming trend. This is the moment a woman was dragged by a crocodile in the Gorai River in Kushtia," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post published on October 9, 2025. 

It also shares an eight-second video of a crocodile in a muddy river with what appears to be human arms in its mouth as the person recording the incident points at the reptile. 

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on October 19, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The false claim surfaced after a fisherman was dragged into a canal by a crocodile and killed in the Sundarbans forest in Bangladesh on September 30, triggering calls among locals for stronger safety measures (archived link). 

The video has spread elsewhere on Facebook, but it was actually filmed in neighbouring India, not Bangladesh.

reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the false video found The Times of India published a clip showing the same scene on its Facebook page on October 8 (archived link). 

"A 59-year-old woman was killed by a saltwater crocodile in the Kharasrota river. Her body was found partially eaten," reads in part the video's caption.

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (L) and The Times of India video

Santosh Kumar Pati, a local forestry official in Jajpur, confirmed to AFP by phone on October 13 that the video shows the victim, Soudamini Mahala.

"Her body was found the next day," Pati went on to say.

Local media reported such attacks are common in Jajpur and Kendrapara districts of Odisha, as crocodiles from the Bhitarkanika sanctuary -- home to nearly 1,826 crocodiles -- sometimes venture into nearby water bodies, posing a threat to locals (archived link). 

AFP has previously debunked false claims that have misrepresented footage from elsewhere as Bangladesh.

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