Video shows procession in Bangladesh, not protest over West Bengal's roadside prayer ban
- Published on May 26, 2026 at 09:37
- 2 min read
- By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India
Local media reported there were protests in Kolkata after new West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a ban on roadside namaz, the daily prayer devout Muslims recite five times a day, but video circulating on social media does not show these demonstrations. The video in fact shows a procession in Chattogram in neighbouring Bangladesh following the funeral of a veteran politician.
The video showing a crowd marching on a road and chanting slogans was shared on Facebook on May 16, 2026.
"Chaos in Kolkata over street prayers; Muslims threaten to protest against new government orders!" says both its Hindi-language caption and overlaid text.
The clip was also shared in similar Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X posts after West Bengal's new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced restrictions on roadside namaz (archived link).
The move to restrict roadside namaz fulfils a key promise of the BJP, which recorded a landmark victory in West Bengal's state elections, dislodging the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party that had been in power since 2011 (archived link).
The restriction would also end Eid namaz on Kolkata's Red Road, where it has been held for years (archived link).
Just a few days before the Muslim festival of Eid-ul Adha (Bakra Eid), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned Muslims against offering prayers on roads, stating that the government would not allow any anarchy on the streets of the state (archived link).
Following Adhikari's announcement, a protest broke out in Kolkata's Park Circus area, which local media described as Muslim-dominated (archived link). Demonstrators blocked roads, triggering clashes with police that injured three officers and led to the arrest of at least 20 people.
But the circulating video does not show these protests.
Chattogram procession
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a similar footage shared on Facebook on May 14 (archived link).
Its Bengali-language caption says it shows crowds bidding a final farewell to Engineer Mosharraf Hossain -- a veteran Bangladeshi politician, freedom fighter and former Awami League minister -- who died on May 13 at the age of 83 (archived link).
Using a shop sign visible in the falsely shared video, AFP geolocated the footage to Chattogram in Bangladesh.
Elements of the falsely shared clip correspond to Google Street View imagery of the area (archived link).
Bangladeshi media outlets reported that thousands of supporters and political workers attended the funeral prayers for Engineer Mosharraf Hossain in Chattogram, Bangladesh on May 14 (archived here and here).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims related to the West Bengal state elections.
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