A video from July of a group of people assaulting a Bangladesh Chhatra League leader and member is viral falsely claiming that it shows an attack on a Hindu woman in Bangladesh, in the recent increased anti-minority attacks in the country.
BOOM was able to identify the woman in the viral video as one Sagarika Akhter, a Muslim leader from the Chhatra League, student wing of the formerly Hasina-led Awami League in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh descended into chaos following a deadly crackdown on protests against the quota movement, forcing prime minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League to resign and flee from the country on August 5, 2024. Following her escape, several ruling party leaders of the Awami League have been attacked, including attacks on houses and businesses belonging to the Hindu minority in at least 27 districts as reported by The Daily Star on August 6, 2024.
In the viral video, a group of men and women can be seen beating a woman and forcing her to do sit-ups in public even as she continues to cry.
The video is being shared with text claiming she is a Hindu woman who did immense social work in the education and health sectors in Bangladesh but is now being beaten in the anti-minority wave in the country. The text claims, "This is Jyotika Basu-Chatterjee from Bangladesh. A woman who ran a humanitarian organization. She worked tirelessly on education and health for Muslims with Hindu funds. She helped all the women nearby, be it small or big; whenever anyone needed help...But as soon as the riots started, Islamic men and women forgot everything"
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BOOM also received the viral video on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906588) with the same false claim.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the woman in the viral video is Sagarika Akhter, a leader of Chhatra League, the student wing of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League.
We found several replies to the X posts stating that the woman in the viral video is not a Hindu woman activist as being claimed.
Taking a hint from that we found a Facebook post with details regarding the incident. Sagarika Akhter's name is mentioned in Bangla in a Facebook post from July 17, 2024, which includes the same video. The caption identifies the woman as Sagarika Akhter, leader of the Chhatra League at the Eden Women's College.
The caption when translated from Bangla to English reads, "Sagarika Akhter, leader of Eden Women's College Chhatra League, wanted to escape, but students caught her and made her do sit-ups. #quotamovement2024 #quotamovement #edenmohilacollege"
The post above has since been deleted.
We also found a Facebook post from July 17, 2024, condemning the incident and mentioning the attack on Akhter. The post translates to English as, "As a former Eden College Chhatra League, I strongly condemn and protest this incident,,, Eden College Chhatra League activist Sagarika Akhter Jharna Student of History Department 14-15 Session, Home: Mymensingh!! Laptop, mobile, passport certificate, ILTS certificate all taken! Let's save the country from the Jamaat-Shibir cycle." BOOM has reached out to the user. The article will be updated when we receive a response.
BOOM also reached out to a student protester at Eden Women's College, who identified the woman seen in the video as Akhter and clarified that she is Muslim by religion and not a Hindu.
Additionally we also found multiple Bangladeshi news reports on Chhatra League student leaders being assaulted at Eden Women's College in Dhaka from July 17, 2024, by anti-quota movement student leaders. At the time, the then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had met with the Awami League student leaders who had allegedly been assaulted.
Additional inputs by Tausif Akbar, BOOM Bangladesh