No, Shops Of Hindus Were Not Burnt Down In Bangladesh; Viral Images Circulated With Misleading Communal Claims

A series of images that show the destruction caused by a fire has gone viral across social media. The images have gone viral with the claim that six grocery shops owned by Hindus were burnt down in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Claim:

The set of images shows scenes of devastation after what seems to be a fire accident that has torn through several buildings. People can be seen gathered around the destroyed infrastructure while the flames are being extinguished. The claim has been circulated in Bengali: "Five shops near to Kadhurkhil High School were burnt down. Shop owners are Rony De, Dolon, Parimal Debnath. All the goods of the shop were burnt. Who did this?" The caption contains hashtags such as #SaveBangladeshiHindhu #savebangladeshihindustemple suggesting a communal aspect to the issue.

Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus shared the images with the following claim, "6 grocery shops of Hindus were set on fire in Kadhurkhil village of Boalkhali upazila of Chittagong. Two goats near the shop were burnt to death."

The claim was also circulated on the website 'Sanatan Prabhat'.

Several posts across Facebook are circulating the same images with similar claims.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. No communal angle was involved in this case.

We used relevant keywords such as 'বোয়ালখালীতে আগুন' (Fire in Boalkhali) and conducted a keyword search in Bengali to check where the incident took place. We came across several news outlets which had reported on the issue.

We went through a report by DhakaTimes24 published on 2nd August 2022. In the thumbnail of the report, one of the viral images can be seen. The report detailed how five shops adjacent to Kadhurkhil Government School of Popadia Union of Boalkhali Upazila of Chittagong were burnt down in a fire accident. As per the report, the fire accident took place on Tuesday morning at 5 o'clock due to an electrical short circuit.

In the report, the victims of the fire accident are noted as, Md. Muharram Ali, Mohammad Roni, Md. Karim, Parimal and Dolan.

We came across another article by NeedsNews24 published on August 2, 2022. A different image from the viral set of images can be seen in the thumbnail of the article.

As per the article, affected business persons claimed that the fire caused more than 5 lakhs in damages. Leader of Boalkhali Fire Service Station, Haider Hossain is reported to have stated that the fire started from an electrical short circuit. When the local people reported the fire, Boalkhali fire service personnel came and brought the fire under control.

We came across several other reports by news outlets, Chattogram News and Dainik Azadi which provided more information. As per these reports, in the blaze, five shops and three goats were burnt to ashes. A grocery shop, two vegetable shops, a salon, and a cooling corner were burnt down.

Further, these reports carried the names of the victims which belonged to both Hindu and Muslim communities.

In our Fact Check, we also came across a report by Jago News published on 2nd August 2022, which provided a quote by Boalkhali Fire Service Leader Haider Hossain. In the statement he said, "We've ascertained an electrical short-circuit as the reason that led to the fire. Personnel from Boalkhali fire service brought the fire under control after the locals reported the fire."

Roni Roy, one of the victims of the fire is also quoted in the report. He is quoted as saying, "My motorcycle was destroyed, three of my goats died in the fire as well as all the goods in the shop. I had taken out a loan to buy these items. This fire will force me to beg for alms on the streets now."

In our Fact Check, we conducted a keyword search across social media. On Facebook, we came across videos of the incident shared by users SM Arif and MD Mobarak Hossen. The captions of their posts read, " All the shops on the west side of Kadhurkhil School were burnt down in a fire accident early in the morning today."

In the comments, in response to various commenters, SM Arif replies that the fire was possibly caused by a short circuit and the matter is under investigation.

Conclusion

In our Fact Check, we found that the fire did take place in Kadhurkhil village of Boalkhali upazila of Chittagong. However, in the fire, shops of business persons from both Hindu and Muslim communities were destroyed, as per media reports.

As per reports and Boalkhali Fire Service Leader Haider Hossain, even as the matter was under investigation, they were able to ascertain that the fire was most likely caused by an electrical short-circuit. Thus, we can ascertain that a destructive fire accident in Chittagong, Bangladesh was misleadingly portrayed as a communally charged incident.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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