Recently, a photo of a vandalised statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been circulating on social media, with claims that it depicts an incident in Bangladesh. In the viral image, the head of the Gandhi statue is shown separated and placed nearby. This incident has sparked considerable outrage among social media users.
One user, Janardan Mishra, posted the photo with the caption: “Welcome to Bangladesh, Bapu… Bapu went on a hunger strike to give ₹55 crore. He demanded complete non-violence from Hindus and supported Muslims’ rights to protect their religion. Today, Bangladeshis have shown their respect for Gandhi ji by doing STSJ (sar tan se juda). Congratulations Bapu, Gandhigiri without a head is alive! P.S.: We should appreciate the Bangladeshis. They placed the STSJ head next to the statue. They did not throw it away or kick it around. How kind they are!”
Apart from this, many other users have also shared this photo, claiming it to be from Bangladesh, which can be seen here and here.
Fact-Check
The DFRAC team investigated this claim and found that the vandalism incident is not from Bangladesh, but from Chakulia in the Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal. The statue was damaged during a protest related to the SIR (Special Intensive Revision). We stumbled upon coverage of this event on the Ktv বাংলা YouTube channel that included information in Bengali stating, “Chakulia News: Allegations of harassment over hearings! Vandalism and arson at the BDO office.”
For further investigation, we conducted a Google search with relevant keywords and found a report by ABP Ananda that provided details on the incident. The report stated, “Violence broke out at the BDO office in Chakulia of Uttar Dinajpur. Arson continued in the office throughout the day. Stones were thrown at police vehicles, and six police personnel, including Chakulia police station IC Raju Sonar, were injured. According to local sources, after the first hearing in Chakulia, the Election Commission summoned at least 69,000 voters from the Chakulia block alone for inquiries regarding several irregularities. Anger erupted against this move by the Commission, leading to protests in several areas of Chakulia.”
We also found a post by former Rajya Sabha MP and BJP National Executive member Swapan Dasgupta, shared along with the viral photo of the vandalised Mahatma Gandhi statue, in which he criticised the incident while stating that it took place in West Bengal.
For further investigation, our team contacted the office of Ktv বাংলা. They confirmed that the video showing the vandalised statue is not from Bangladesh but from Chakulia in the Uttar Dinajpur district. The incident was the result of anger from local residents following notices issued for inquiries under the SIR process, leading to a mob vandalising the BDO office and setting it on fire.
Conclusion
DFRAC’s investigation clearly shows that the viral photo of the vandalised Mahatma Gandhi statue circulating on social media is not from Bangladesh. The incident took place in Chakulia, Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal. Therefore, the claims made by users sharing this photo are misleading.
