A video showing a massive fire engulfing what appears to be a cluster of tin-roofed houses has gone viral on social media. In the video, we can see many people standing on the road and looking at the fire.

The video is shared with a caption claiming it documents a communal attack in which Muslims set fire to 25 houses in a Hindu neighbourhood in Jashore, Bangladesh. The footage has been shared widely on Facebook with captions alleging a coordinated arson attack on the minority community.

A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “25 or two fire burnt in the Hindu area of Shimpur village of Rajganj of Nirampu sub-district of Jessore.”

SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video shows a furniture factory fire in Rangamati, Bangladesh. There is no communal angle to the incident.

On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Facebook page called ‘Priyo Shohor Rangamati’ on August 3.

According to the caption, the fire occurred at the Ganthachhara Mistri Tila furniture factory in the Maineemukh Union of Longadu Upazila in Rangamati district. The caption reads, “A terrible fire broke out at the Gathachhada Mistri Tila Furniture Factory in Mainimukh Union, Longdu Upazila. O Allah, keep everyone safe, protect life and property. The army and fire service are trying to extinguish the fire.”

We further found that the same video was also shared by Prothom Alo, a Bangladeshi website, on August 3. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Fire at two Longadu furniture factories causes losses of several million taka.”

Using this information, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the same incident was also shared by a local website, Naya Diganta Online.

According to the report, a fire believed to have started from an electrical short circuit destroyed three furniture factories, two homes, machinery, timber and finished furniture in Longadu, Rangamati, early on Monday, August 3.

The blaze began at Alal’s factory in Ganthachhara and quickly spread to properties belonging to Tariqul Badsha and Russell. Locals, firefighters and army personnel jointly brought it under control. Officials estimated combined losses at around 28 million taka. The affected traders, including one who financed his business through a bank loan, said they had lost everything. Local representatives urged the government to provide emergency financial assistance and rehabilitation to victims. One of the affected traders was businessman Tariqul Badsha.

Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.