Visuals of 2021 Bengaluru sexual assault case falsely linked to Bangladesh violence

(Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.)

What is the claim?

A partly blurred screenshot of a woman being forcibly held on a bed is circulating on social media, with text implying it depicts a Hindu woman from Dhaka University being sexually assaulted by several men. The text further claims that a full video of the incident exists and that the new (interim) government in Bangladesh will exacerbate such attacks. 

Some users have also shared a six-second-long graphic video showing multiple individuals disrobing and assaulting a female alongside the viral screenshot. The viral image is a frame from this video. Due to its graphic nature, Logically Facts will not provide a link to the video or its archived version.

Several X (formerly Twitter) users have shared this screenshot with the same caption: “Dear Secular/Leftist Hindus. Your Daughter/Sisters are also ‘HINDU GOODS’ for them. This is what Hindu sisters are facing in Bangladesh right now, and we can do nothing to save them. Hindus should stop crying and start fighting back. Wake up @narendramodiji and do something.”

The video was first shared on a Telegram channel called ‘Islamic Army - latest version,’ which posted several images and videos from Bangladesh. 

What are the facts?

A reverse image search of keyframes from the video led to a News Bangla 24 report. The report, dated June 8, 2021, featured a screenshot from the video and discussed a rape case involving Bangladeshi citizens in Bengaluru, India. The report, titled "Abuse of Young Women in India: Trafficking Ringleaders Confess (translated from Bangla)," detailed confessions from Ashraful Mondal, also known as Boss Rafi, and Abdur Rahman, leaders of a trafficking ring operating between Bangladesh and India. The report mentioned the video, describing it as showing five men assaulting a woman and going viral on social media.

The video first went viral in 2021, following reports of the sexual assault of a Bangladeshi woman in Bengaluru, Karnataka, which emerged in May of that year. Multiple Indian news organizations reported the incident. According to a July 8, 2021, report by The Times of India, twelve Bangladeshi nationals, including three women, were charged for allegedly assaulting and raping a Bangladeshi woman in Ramamurthynagar, east Bengaluru, in early May.

A May 29, 2021, report by The Hindustan Times, by journalist Arun Dev, stated that four undocumented Bangladeshi men were arrested after a viral video showed them allegedly torturing and assaulting a woman in her early 20s. Dev confirmed to Logically Facts that the now-viral video is from the same 2021 incident.

The video also went viral in Assam at that time. A Scroll.in report from July 8, 2021, detailed how the culprits recorded and shared the clip with friends in Assam, leading to its virality and subsequent police investigation. Scroll journalist Rokibuz Zaman confirmed to Logically Facts that the screenshot and video in question are from the same incident.

The Scroll report included an X post (archived here) from May 27, 2021, by the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, which stated: “Based on the contents of the video and preliminary investigation, a case of rape and assault has been registered against six persons, including two women, at @ramamurthyngrps.”

We have contacted the Ramamurthy police for further confirmation and will update this check once we receive a response.

Current unrest in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been experiencing turmoil for weeks, following student protests that erupted in late June against the Sheikh Hasina-led government over a controversial job quota policy. This policy reserved 30 percent of government positions for veterans' families from the 1971 War of Independence against Pakistan. The policy was scrapped in 2018, but was reinstated by a lower court in June 2024.

In response to the protests, internet services were cut, and a curfew was imposed. However, the situation escalated as protesters resorted to arson, prompting the police to use force and opening fire. Several protesters were killed in clashes with the police. 

After widespread protests, on July 21, the country’s Supreme Court partially scrapped the policy, and directed that 93% of the jobs in the government should be on merit. However, the protests continued, turning into an agitation against the ruling Awani League and Sheikh Hasina.

According to a BBC report, as of August 5, 2024, the death toll from police shootings, mob beatings, and arson stands at 280.

On August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country. Visuals have emerged of protesters storming her residence to celebrate her exit, destroying statues of her father and Bangladesh independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and engaging in arson on the streets. Hasina is currently in India and is expected to stay there while seeking asylum elsewhere, with reports suggesting she may be heading to the United Kingdom.

In the meantime, the Bangladesh Army announced the formation of an interim government, with Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus as the chief adviser. President Mohammed Shahabuddin has called for political parties to restore order after a day of escalating tension. The curfew ended at 6 a.m. on August 6, allowing government offices and educational institutions to reopen.

The verdict

The viral video, originating from a 2021 sexual assault case in Bengaluru, has been falsely linked to the current situation in Bangladesh, with claims that it shows the “plight of Hindu women” there. Multiple news reports and journalists have confirmed that the video is old and unrelated to the ongoing situation in Bangladesh.