Footage of Muslim man insulted in Bangladesh falsely linked to anti-Hindu violence
- Published on January 19, 2026 at 08:17
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, Eyamin SAJID, AFP India
Indian media have reported on a wave of violence targeting Bangladesh's Hindu minority in the lead-up to the country's general elections expected in February 2026. A video has spread on social media with a false claim it showed a Hindu teacher being insulted with a shoe garland. But the clip has been misrepresented; local police told AFP it shows a Muslim man who was accused of blasphemy.
"Bangladesh: farewell ceremony for a retiring Hindu teacher," reads a Hindi-language Instagram post on December 25, 2025.
It shares a clip showing a man with a garland of shoes around his neck -- a way of showing disrespect or public anger -- surrounded by people dressed in Islamic attire.
Text on the video claims it showed a 50-year-old Hindu teacher garlanded with shoes in Bangladesh.
The footage circulated with similar claims on X and Facebook days after Hindu garment factory worker Dipu Chandra Das was killed in Mymensingh, north of the capital Dhaka, on December 18, 2025 following allegations of blasphemy (archived link).
Das' killing coincided with violent protests in Bangladesh triggered by the shooting of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi outside a mosque in Dhaka. He later died while being treated in a hospital in Singapore (archived link).
He was a key figure in 2024's pro-democracy uprising and was running for a parliamentary seat in the national election to be held in February 2026.
Indian media reported at least 11 Hindus have been killed in Bangladesh since December 2025 (archived link).
But the video in the false post does not show a Hindu man given a shoe garland.
A Google reverse image search using keyframes from the clip found screengrabs from the video embedded in local media reports on June 15, 2025 (archived here and here).
The articles identified the man as retired community medical officer Ahemd Ali, and that a mob assaulted him for alleged derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed in Rajbari, Central Bangladesh.
Police arrived and calmed the mob that had garlanded Ali with shoes.
Md Abdur Rob Talukder, the officer-in-charge of Baliakandi police station in Rajbari, confirmed to AFP on January 15 the man in the video is a retired Muslim medical officer.
"A case was filed against the man on June 15, 2025 over allegations of blasphemy," he said.
Bangladeshi chief advisor's press office has debunked a similar claim using the same visuals that circulated in June 2025 (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation around the unrest in Bangladesh.
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