Advocate B. Balakrishnan, Vice President of BJP Kerala, shared a video on Facebook claiming it was linked to the recent violence in Murshidabad, West Bengal, which erupted around April 11, 2025, during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
However, the footage actually depicts a sectarian clash in Sherpur District, Bangladesh, where Sunni Muslims attacked a Shia Mazar and Dargah.
The video shared by Advocate B. Balakrishnan, with the caption “Islamic extremists wreak havoc in Bengal… Hindus from minority areas like Murshidabad and Malda are being forced to flee,” shows a large group of armed men, visibly Muslim, walking through a rural landscape surrounded by palm trees and open fields.
On the contrary, the video is not from India; it shows a violent incident in Sherpur District, Bangladesh, at the Murshidpur Darbar Sharif in the Lachhmanpur area, where a mob of 400–500 individuals, identified as local Muslims, attacked and looted a shrine (Pir Mazar) on November 26, 2024.
This video, widely misused in India by Hindutva proponents with false claims that it depicts Indian Muslims attacking Hindus or Hindu places of worship to inflame communal tensions, has already been fact-checked by reputable websites, including Alt News.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already under fire for using fake news, videos, and images reportedly from unrelated incidents to inflame communal tensions amid the recent violence in Murshidabad, West Bengal.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale and other leaders alleged that BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar posted fake photographs on X on April 13, 2025, claiming they showed “Muslims being violent during Hindu festivals in Bengal.”
“Yesterday, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar posted a series of photos of violence from other states (including BJP states). And then he claimed that these were photos of “Muslims being violent during Hindu festivals in Bengal,” he said.
“It is clear that the minister was inciting riots in Bengal on the orders of Shah. It’s a toolkit — use ministers to incite tensions and then use that as an excuse to send Central Forces to Bengal,” Gokhale wrote.
“You deleted your tweet after being caught. As a Union Minister, why haven’t you apologized for sharing fake communal propaganda that could spark violence? Or was that your intention all along, thinking you wouldn’t get caught?” he added.
Gokhale also questioned the media’s silence over Majumdar’s post and its subsequent deletion. Most importantly: Why is the national media SILENT on this? Is there no accountability expected from a Union Minister?,”he asked.
“Do you have any sense of responsibility as a Union Minister? You knowingly posted fake photos with the intention of fueling riots. As a Minister, aren’t you ashamed of committing a crime to destabilize law and order? You deleted your tweet after being caught. As a Union Minister, why haven’t you apologized yet for sharing fake communal propaganda which can lead to riots? Or was that your intention all along and you thought you wouldn’t get caught?” he asked.
He further asserted that, “Will Amit Shah pull up his Union Minister? Or will he try new dirty tactics now in his desperation for Bengal elections next year? BJP is welcome to fight us on facts. But a Modi Minister using his position to incite communal riots in Bengal is UNACCEPTABLE & DANGEROUS.”
Kolkata Police on Monday filed a case against the user of the BJP West Bengal X handle for allegedly spreading fake news.
