Claim
A viral video shows police officers shielding themselves from an attack by a group of young men who are throwing brickbats at them. In the video, the police officers appear to be cornered and are using shields to protect themselves. A user on Facebook shared the video with the caption: “बंगाल के लोग भी कहते थे हमारी सुरक्षा के लिए तो पुलिस हैं, देख लो बंगाल में पुलिस की हालत, दूसरों की गलतियों से सीखों हिंदुओं…” which translates to: “People in Bengal also used to say, ‘We have the police for our protection.’ Just look at the condition of the police in Bengal now. Learn from others’ mistakes, Hindus…” It claim that the incident occurred in West Bengal.
The user shared this video on April 15, 2025.
Fact Check
To investigate the video, DFRAC conducted a reverse image search on a keyframe. This led to two other videos. The first video, found on Facebook, had text in Devanagari script stating, “आन्दोलनमा केटाहरुले रिस खात्रा पोखे मर्छनकि के पुलिस पाजुहरुलाई.” DFRAC translated this from Nepali to English: The boys expressed their anger during the protest, but did they die in police custody?
Additionally, the same video was shared on YouTube by Prabesh Chettry on March 28, 2025. At the end of this video, a person can be seen in a car displaying the Nepal national flag.
Lastly, a news report by India Today states that the large-scale violence in West Bengal started on April 11, 2025. According to this report many Hindus, mostly women and children, from Murshidabad have fled their homes using boats to cross the Ganga to Malda.
Conclusion
Hence, the claims of the viral video depicting the violence in West Bengal is misleading. The visuals actually originate from Nepal. Since the video was uploaded on March 28, 2025, and the violence in West Bengal began after April 11, 2025, it is clear that the video predates the alleged incident.
