Months-old footage of Uttar Pradesh demonstration falsely linked to West Bengal violence
- Published on May 26, 2026 at 08:20
- 2 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
A months-old video of protesters in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has resurfaced in social media posts under false claims it shows police using bamboo batons to break up a crowd of "radical Muslim anti nationals" in West Bengal. The clip was shared in May 2026 as violence erupted in West Bengal after state elections that saw the All India Trinamool Congress dislodged by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, but it has in fact circulated in reports since September 2025.
"West Bengal: Jihadist radical Muslim anti nationals were shouting 'Bangladesh Zindabad' (long live Bangladesh) ... Police gave perfect treatment," says the caption of an X video shared on May 12, 2026.
The video shows policemen breaking up a crowd of people in the middle of a road and dispersing them.
"In West Bengal, lathi-charge was carried out on the mullahs who chanted 'Bangladesh Zindabad'," says the Hindi-language text over the video. Lathis are sturdy sticks wielded by police to quell dissent and control crowds (archived link).
The same video was also shared in similar Facebook and Instagram posts.
"This is the right treatment for Jihadi traitors," reads a comment on one of the posts.
Another says: "Bengal police did the right thing. Those who love Bangladesh should leave India."
The clip circulated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party recorded a landmark victory in West Bengal's state elections, dislodging the All India Trinamool Congress party that had been in power since 2011 (archived link).
At least five people have been killed -- including a close aide of West Bengal's new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari -- in violence that has erupted since the election (archived link).
While local media reported that Muslims and their property had been targeted in post-election attacks, the footage circulating on social media is months-old and was not filmed in West Bengal (archived here and here).
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to an NDTV news report from September 26, 2025 that used similar footage (archived link).
The NDTV report is headlined "'I Love Muhammad' Row Escalates In UP, Clashes In Bareilly, Cops Lathicharge". The circulating clip can be seen at the report's 2:40 mark.
The "I Love Muhammad" row stemmed from protests in an Uttar Pradesh city, when police removed posters bearing the slogan -- a move that sparked demonstrations in other parts of the state (archived link).
Video of the police breaking up the protest in Bareilly was also shared in other local news reports (archived here and here).
Moreover, the area seen in the circulating video matches Google Street View imagery from Bareilly (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims stemming from the West Bengal polls.
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