Clip of Awami League Leader Getting Attacked Viral With False Communal Claim

This video shows an Awami League leader being attacked in Sylhet for his actions in the July-August movement.

Fact-Check: This clip has gone viral with a false communal spin that a Hindu man was beaten as he was protesting against the abduction of his daughter at the hands of a Muslim man.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video of a man being attacked by a mob is going viral on social media, alleging that a Hindu man named Haradhan Roy was assaulted by 'Muslim extremists' for protesting his daughter, Anjana Roy's, kidnapping in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• This video is from May and shows Awami League leader Nirmalendu Das Rana being attacked in Sylhet.

• Police confirmed that he had been on the run since the July-August movement which led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

What we found: At first, we divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We found a report by BD News 24 from 14 May which carried a similar frame as the viral video. It noted in Sylhet, a mob publicly assaulted Rana, before handing him over to the police.

Here is a comparison between the two frames.

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

• The report further noted that incident occurred while Rana was dining at a restaurant in the Rikabibazar area. A group of masked men surrounded him, began physically assaulting him, and eventually dragged him inside the premises of Madan Mohan College.

• Witnesses reported that Rana sustained bleeding injuries on his head and other parts of his body.

• According to police, Rana had been on the run since the Awami League lost power and had an active case registered against him at Nabiganj Police Station.

• He was treated for his injuries and was held at the Kotwali Police Station. Authorities confirmed that he would be presented in court in connection with a case related to the ongoing anti-discrimination student movement.

• Other publications such as New Age BD and Rupali Bangladesh also covered this incident in May.

• We found no evidence of the abduction of a Hindu girl named Anjana Roy from Naogaon.

Conclusion: A clip of an Awami League leader attacked in Sylhet has gone viral with a false communal spin that a Hindu man was beaten as he was protesting against the abduction of his daughter at the hands of a Muslim man.

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