Viral video of Muslim man praying debunked as West Bengal misinformation
A video showing a Muslim man praying while others play musical instruments behind him has gone viral on social media. False claims suggest it depicts Muslims being harassed in a Kolkata mosque after the BJP’s victory in West Bengal. The footage has been linked to post-poll violence in the state, but the origins of the video are unrelated to these events. The video was uploaded on 20 June 2025 to the YouTube channel Gashchi Shahi Darbar Sharif. It shows a group of men playing instruments inside a shrine, not a mosque in Kolkata. The location is Gashchi Shahi Darbar Sharif, a Sufi shrine in the Chattogram division of Bangladesh.
Post-poll clashes between BJP and TMC supporters in West Bengal have led to injuries, vandalism, and arson. However, the video predates the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The channel hosting the video contains multiple clips of the same men performing inside the shrine, confirming its true origin. The viral footage is from a shrine in Bangladesh and has no connection to recent events in West Bengal. The claim that it shows harassment in a Kolkata mosque is false. The video has been online since mid-2025, long before the latest elections.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
