Bangladesh and Indian relations are in strife. Amidst this, a disturbing video is being shared on social media. The video shows that a farmer and his family are crying seeing their full-grown crop field burned into ashes. While sharing the video users are claiming that Bangladeshi Muslims have poured petrol on the ripe rice crops of Hindus and set them on fire.
A frequent fake news peddler account named, हम लोग We The People has shared the video and claimed, “Bangladeshi Islamists are pouring petrol on the ripe rice crops of Hindus and setting them on fire.”
Following this, other users have also shared a similar video with homogeneous claims which you can view here and here.
Fact Check
We investigated the viral claim by running the keyframes into Google reverse image search. During the process, we found similar images from the viral video in a Bangladesh-based media outlet The News 24. The media dated 6 December stated, ” Kushtia farmer Nasim Mia had cultivated rice on a leased three bighas of land. The yield was good. However, he could not bring the rice home. The miscreants had set the ripe rice cut in the field on fire with petrol. Such an accident in the midst of extreme poverty is like a wound on the back of a dead body. Nasim Mia seems to have no end to his worries about what to do and how to proceed.
The accident occurred on Wednesday (December 4) night at Lakshmipur field in Piarpur village of Kushtia Sadar upazila, Nasim Mia’s home village. However, no one knows who caused the incident.”
Conclusion
Thus, from the fact check it is clear that the viral claim of Hindu farmer’s crop being burned is false. The incident involved miscreants burning a Muslim farmer’s rice crop in Kushtia, but there is no evidence to suggest any communal or religious motive behind it.
