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A night-time video of a woman in distress and asking for help from a crowd filming her has gone viral. Those sharing the video claim the woman is a Hindu who was tortured by Muslims in Bangladesh.
A social media user shared the video and wrote, “A #Hindu woman was #raped and #tortured in Araihazar village of Narayanganj. This is how the #extremists made fun of her, no one came forward to help her #SaveBangladeshiHindu. (sic)”
SouthCheck found that the claim was false. There is no communal angle to the incident. The was attacked for being an accomplice to a thief.
On a Google reverse image search, we found a screenshot of the video published by a website, Desh TV, on December 27, 2024. The report stated that the woman was accused of being an accomplice of a robber who was lynched by villagers in Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj, Bangladesh. The report stated the woman jumped into a canal to save herself from the mob. However, she was also injured during the assault.
The report identified the deceased as Md Bilal alias Billu Dakat, son of Abdul Majid of Haijadi UP, Araihazar.
The incident was also reported by another Bangladeshi website, Somoy News on December 27, 2024. The report quoted police who said that at night, a group of seven to eight robbers were preparing to rob a car on Ilumdi Road in Kahindi village. The villagers, realising the attempt, chased them. While the other members of the robber group escaped, Billal and his associate Lovely were caught by the mob. Billal died on the spot after being thrashed by the angry villagers. At that time, his associate Lovely jumped into a canal to protect herself. On receiving the information, the police station went to recover the body and rescued the injured woman.
There is no mention of a communal motive behind the assault. Therefore, we conclude that the claim is false.
