Religious tensions soared in Bangladesh in the chaotic aftermath of autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina’s toppling, with Hindus targeted in attacks based on the minority faith’s perceived support for her party. A video shared online, however, does not show a Hindu temple vandalised in the Muslim-majority country, as social media posts claimed. The clip has circulated since August 2021 in reports about a mob ransacking a temple in Pakistan.<\/h3>\n
“The plight of Bangladesh Hindu temples. Where are international human rights and the Indian government?” read a Hindi-language X post<\/a> that shared the video on December 8.<\/p>\n “Rohingyas and Bangladeshi intruders should be thrown out of India and all trade and cricket matches should be stopped.”<\/p>\n The post, which racked more than 34,000 views, shows footage of a mob smashing up a room decorated with Hindu deities<\/span>.<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false X post, captured on December 12, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The footage circulated on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> after supporters of an arrested Hindu leader in Bangladesh clashed<\/a> with security forces on November 29 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n Outspoken Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested<\/a> for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally and denied bail, the Times of India reported (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n Religious relations have been turbulent in the Muslim-majority country since a student-led revolution forced long-time autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India in August.<\/p>\n The chaotic aftermath of Hasina’s ouster saw a string of reprisals on Hindus — seen by some as disproportionate supporters of her government — as well as attacks on Muslim Sufi shrines by Islamist hardliners.<\/p>\n The government in neighbouring India — a Hindu-majority nation — also sounded the alarm over the attacks.<\/p>\n The video shared online, however, was filmed in Pakistan years before Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.<\/p>\n A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video led to a report<\/a> published by Pakistani newspaper Dawn on August 5, 2021 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n The article, which included a screenshot from the video and embedded an X post<\/a> sharing the footage, is headlined: “Mob ransacks temple after minor boy gets bail in desecration case”.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people attacked the Hindu temple in Bhong, a town in Pakistan’s Punjab province, after a local court granted bail to a nine-year-old Hindu boy accused of urinating in a seminary, according to the report.<\/p>\n Below is the screenshot comparison<\/span> of the falsely shared video (left) and a screenshot published in Dawn’s article (right):<\/p>\nRansacked temple<\/h3>\n