Amid the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a video is rapidly going viral on social media. The viral video shows a rally passing by with Bangladesh flags. Citing the video, it is being claimed that Bangladeshis living illegally in Mumbai are also protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the verified user The Jaipur Dialogues shared the viral video and wrote that this is not Bangladesh, but Mumbai. The post stated that this shows how important SIR actually is.
Fact Check:
To investigate the claim made alongside the viral video, DFRAC conducted a reverse search of the video’s keyframes. During this process, we found a media report by news channel ABP MAJHA on YouTube related to the viral video. The report, posted on October 4, 2026, had a Marathi headline stating: “Virar News: Youths Waved the Bangladesh Flag During a Shoot in the MHADA Area.”
The caption further stated: “Virar News: An incident has come to light from the MHADA area of Virar. Here, one lane of a road had been closed for the shooting of a film, and during this time, some youths were seen waving the Bangladesh flag and wearing T-shirts. Local residents filed a complaint with the police regarding this matter. However, the police say that permission for the shoot had been granted, but the question being raised is whether special permission had also been obtained to use the flag of another country. It is reported that after learning about the incident, some youths from Virar and Nalasopara reached the location, protested, and burnt the flag.”
In this regard, we also found another video on Facebook. The media report was posted by the user In24news on October 3, 2026. Its caption read: “Virar Viral Video: Bangladesh Flag Waved During Shooting, Uproar After Protest | in24news #VirarNews #ViralVideo #BangladeshFlag #MumbaiNews. A video showing the Bangladesh flag being waved during a shoot in Virar, in Palghar district near Mumbai, has surfaced on social media, following which local youths and some organisations have strongly protested against it.”
Apart from this, DFRAC also spoke to Firoz Meethiborwala, a Mumbai-based social activist and member of the protest committee, regarding the video. He stated that “the viral video is from a commercial advertisement shoot for a motorcycle company.” He also said that the video has no connection with the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Conclusion:
The DFRAC fact-check establishes that the claim made alongside the viral video is misleading. The video is not of Bangladeshis living illegally in Mumbai protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), but is from a shoot that took place in Virar. The video is being shared with the wrong context and falsely linked to the SIR protests.
| Claim Review | Bangladeshis living illegally in Mumbai are also protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). |
| Claim By | Social media users |
| Fact Check | Misleading claim |
Sources:
- Media report posted on YouTube by news channel ABP MAJHA on October 4, 2026.
- Media report posted on Facebook by the user In24news on October 3, 2026.
- Statement by Firoz Meethiborwala, a Mumbai-based social activist and member of the protest committee.
