Attack On Awami League Member Shared As Assault On Bangladesh Hindu Woman

A video going viral on social media claims to show a Hindu woman bleeding down her face. The post claims she was a successful businesswoman in Bangladesh, with Muslim tenants. The post further alleges that a group of 35 radicals forcibly took over her house and raped her.  Let's verify the truth behind the video in this article.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim: Video shows a Hindu woman who was allegedly raped by some Muslims in Bangladesh and took over her house.

Fact: The woman in the video is 'Kohinoor Akhtar,' a member of the Bangladesh Krishak League affiliated with the Bangladesh Awami League led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She is a Muslim woman. On 10 November 2024, she attended a protest where she was attacked. The viral visuals are from that incident. There is no truth in the claim that she was raped. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to a YouTube video (archived link) dated 11 November 2024, featuring a similar clip. The video's title identifies the woman in the footage as Kohinoor Begum, a member of the Bangladesh Krishak League.

Taking a clue from the description a Google keyword search led to a video (archived link) on the Krishak League's Facebook page. According to the post, the woman in the video is Kohinoor, a member of the Bangladesh Krishak League. The post claimed that she was attacked by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during an event held on 10 November 2024 to commemorate Shaheed Noor Hussain Day. The Bangladesh Krishak League also claimed in the post that she was arrested.

The post also tagged Kohinur Akther's Facebook account. Upon examining her profile, it is confirmed that she is the woman seen in the viral video. Her account contains several photographs in which she is wearing a burqa or hijab (here, here, and here).

Several of the photos she uploaded feature posters of the Bangladesh Krishak League (here, here, and here). One of the photos (archived link) also includes a card stating that she is a member of the Bangladesh Krishak League. Based on this evidence, it is clear (archived link) that she is not a Hindu, but a Muslim woman and a member of the Bangladesh Krishak League.

We also found a video (archived link) captured from a different angle of the same incident featured in the viral video. In this footage, we can see her being escorted by female police officers, with some of them chasing after her and shouting. The video reveals that the incident occurred on 'Bangabandhu Avenue' in Dhaka city.

A further keyword search reveals that on 10 November 2024, near the Awami League Party office at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka, party workers organised a program (protest rally) (archived link) to mark 'Noor Hussain Divas' (here, here, and here).

At that time, some BNP party workers and leaders attacked Awami League workers who had gathered there (here, here, and here). During the incident, several Awami League workers were arrested by the police. (archived link)

According to news reports, they beat everyone, regardless of gender, and handed them over to the police (here, here, and here). The shops where the protest took place were the same ones where the woman seen in the viral video was taken away by the police (here).

The incident shown in the viral video posted by the Bangladesh Krishak League on their Facebook page involves Kohinoor Akhtar, who was attacked (here and here) during the protest rally organised by the Awami League on 10 November 2024. This confirms that the woman seen in the video is not a Hindu and was not raped.

Additionally, the Bangladesh-based fact-checking organisation 'Rumor Scanner' (archived link) published an article clarifying that the woman in the video is not a Hindu and was not raped, contrary to the claims made in the viral post. According to them, the Dhaka Police reported the arrest of approximately 33 leaders and activists during the Awami League rally on 10 November 2024, but there was no evidence of rape in the incident.

To sum up, video of an attack on an Awami League member is being falsely shared as visuals of a Hindu woman being sexually assaulted by Muslims in Bangladesh.

(This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)