Fact Check: Does the viral video show a case of Love Jihad in West Bengal?

The viral video is of Bangladesh and not from West Bengal
(Source: Social media screenshot)
(Source: Social media screenshot)

Many social media users share a video in which one can see two girls wearing dresses resembling a burqa while another woman is wearing a salwar suit. There is a crowd around, and a woman wearing a salwar kurta fades. 

The video is shared with a caption claiming that the girls in the burqa were initially Hindus who were forcibly converted to Islam by making obscene videos in West Bengal. The caption further said that the father filed a case against the conversion in court, but the girls denied recognizing their mother and called her kafir, resulting in the fading of the mother.

The report was shared with a caption that reads, “पश्चिम बंगाल में लव जिहाद और  अश्लील विडियो बना कर के एक हिंदू लड़की ने इस्लाम कबूल करवा दिया। लड़की के पिता ने कोर्ट में केस दायर किया तो हिंदू लड़की ने अपनी हिंदू मां को पहचानने से इनकार कर दिया और अपनी मां को काफिर कहा। बाद में बेटी को वापस न ला पाने पर मां बेहोश हो गई और लड़की आराम से गाड़ी मे बैठ कर चली गई। रिकॉर्डिंग करने वाला मुसलमान बहुत खुश है कि एक काफिर को कम कर दिया। सनातनियों अपने बच्चों को सनातन संस्कृति की परंपरा, मर्यादा -संस्कार सिखाओ पश्चिमी सभ्यता -आधुनिकता- मॉडर्न बनना छोड़ो वरना संस्कारों का सर्वनाश हो जाएगा।” (English translation, “In West Bengal, a Hindu girl was forced to embrace Islam by entrapping her in love jihad and then making obscene videos. When the girl's father filed a case in court, the Hindu girl refused to acknowledge her Hindu identity and referred to her mother as a 'kafir' (non-believer). Unable to bring back her daughter, the mother fainted, and the girl comfortably left in a car. The Muslim individual recording the incident is very pleased that a 'kafir' has been diminished. Hindus should teach their children the traditions, values, and culture of Hinduism. Abandoning the path of Western civilization, modernization, and modernity is essential; otherwise, the destruction of cultural values is inevitable.”)

Similar claims can be found here and here.

Fact Check

SouthCheck found the claim to be misleading.

On searching with appropriate keywords, we found the same video was uploaded by an X user on February 14, 2024. She had uploaded the video with a caption claiming that it is of Bangladesh. The caption suggested that two sisters in Bangladesh's Comilla district converted to Islam after being inspired by it from childhood as they lived and grew up around Muslim families in their neighbourhood and were attracted to the concept of 'purdah' (veil) and 'namaz.'

We found another Twitter handle that uploaded the video on October 29, 2023, with a caption claiming that two female friends had converted to Islam in Bangladesh.

We further contacted a fact checker working for Rumour Scanner in Bangladesh who shared with us a Facebook link uploaded by an advocate, M Hossein Asif, the lawyer of the girls. The video showed the testimony of the two girls. The testimony was shared with a caption claiming that the girls embraced Islam as their religion on October 29, 2024. It further suggested that the girls had also stated this in front of a court in Comilla, Bangladesh. Moreover, the post also denied the involvement of any man.

Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading and the video is from Bangladesh.

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