Does This Photo Show Lord Vishnu’s Statue Being Demolished in Bangladesh? No!

The statue was demolished along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Fact-Check | The image is not from Bangladesh as claimed in the viral social media post.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image showing a bulldozer demolishing a statue of Lord Vishnu is going viral on social media platforms with users claiming it to be a recent incident from Bangladesh.

A Facebook user shared the photo with a caption in Malayalam that loosely translated to, "The scenes in Bangladesh are frightening."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar such claims could be viewed here and here.)

What's the truth?: The claim is misleading. The image actually shows a Lord Vishnu statue that was demolished along the border of Thailand and Cambodia.

How did we find out?: A simple Google Lens search directed us to a news report published by NDTV that carried the same image.

• It said that Cambodian officials have accused Thailand of demolishing a statue of Lord Vishnu in a disputed border area.

• The report carried a statement from Preah Vihear's spokesperson Lim Chanpanha, who said that the statue was located inside the Cambodian territory in the An Ses area.

The report was published on 24 December.

(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)

MEA's statement on the incident: The official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, issued a statement on the demolition of the Hindu deity statue.

• The post shared on 24 December said, "Notwithstanding territorial claims, such disrespectful acts hurt the sentiments of followers around the world and should not take place."

• It further both sides to engage in dialogue and diplomacy to resume peace.

What did Bangkok say?: As per a report published in The Week, the Thai authorities stated that the demolished structure was not a "registered religious site".

• The Thai-Cambodian border press centre, in a statement, claimed that their actions were not intended to disrespect any sacred entities but were solely for the "purpose of area management and security".

Conclusion: It is evident that the image of a bulldozer demolishing a statue of Lord Vishnu is being incorrectly linked to Bangladesh.

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