A series of footage showing a mob attack on Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, in Sherpur, Bangladesh, is being falsely shared as an attack by Bangladeshi Muslims on properties, crops and livestock owned by Bangladeshi Hindus.
BOOM found several news reports from Bangladesh carrying the exact same visuals, which described them as footage of vandalism and arson by a mob of over hundred people on an Islamic shrine, leading to clashes between two Muslim groups. Furthermore, local authorities and local reporters from Sherpur have confirmed to BOOM Bangladesh that there was no communal angle to the attack.
X user MeghUpdates shared the videos with the caption, "Radical mob attacked a village in Murshidpur in Sherpur District, Bangladesh. Hindu homes, crops destroyed. Livestock looted. One person has been killed. Even Sufi shrine of unorthodox islamic sect looted and vandalised." View an archive of the post here.
Footage shows violence between two Muslim groups
BOOM did a keyword search with "sherpur bangladesh violence" and came across various news articles about an attack on an Islamic shrine named Murshidpur Darbar Sharif, also known as Doja Pirer Darbar, which lead to violence between Muslim groups.
Sources from the shrine claimed to Dhaka Tribune that "the attack was motivated by allegations from local madrasa teachers and residents that anti-Islamic activities were taking place at the Darbar."
Looking through the search results, we found a video report by Jamuna TV, which contained various visuals from the unrest. We found one of the footage of arson matching one of the videos shared by MeghUpdates.
We found several other footage published by social media users, and Bangla Affairs, which closely matched the visuals posted by MeghUpdates, and reported it as an attack on the shrine. None of the reports mentioned any attack on Hindu properties, or temples.
BOOM Bangladesh spoke to a local reporter, who explained that the violence started after a group of people had accused the shrine of indulging in anti-Islamic activities and tried to evict those in the Darbar, which led to the death of one of the followers of the shrine, leading to more violence. He conveyed that the violence happened between two Muslim groups.
The Officer-in-Charge of Sherpur Sadar police station further confirmed to BOOM Bangladesh that there was no communal angle to the incident.
