Bengal on high alert after fake communal violence videos surface

Kolkata: In the wake of the circulation of fake videos of the Bangladeshi Hindus being attacked with the intention to create communal tension in the state, the West Bengal Home Department has put all the districts, particularly those bordering Bangladesh, on high alert.

One particular video from Bangladesh that has been making the rounds in Bengal is a clip having a tagline "how Jatan Saha, a Hindu Grand Alliance activist, was murdered in a temple at Noakhali".

Several BJP leaders, such as Debdas Mondal, general secretary of the party in Bongaon district, shared the video on Tuesday, seeking justice for the deceased.

On the development, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Tuesday said a group with "vested interests" was circulating fake videos on social media to create communal tension.

Referring to the video, Khan explained that the 30-second clip he was referring to was of the May 16 incident in Dhaka's Pallabi area over a property dispute.

"But a group with vested interests is circulating it, calling it the footage of the killing of Jatan Kumar Saha in Noakhali, who died in the recent clashes. This is being done with the intention of creating communal tension. We condemn such actions," Khan said at a programme titled "Technological Modernisation of RAB (Rapid Action Battalion)".

A senior official of the state home department said that officials had been asked to keep track of all social media posts, as there are apprehensions that some forces might try to use the "assault on Hindus" in Bangladesh to create trouble in Bengal.

"All units are being instructed to keep a sharp vigil on videos that are being forwarded. Even small matters of communal overtures are to be reported promptly at the highest level," he added.

"Any post which is spreading hatred, falsehood or rumours is to be dealt with sternly, as some groups and individuals have launched a concerted effort in the social media to spread communal hatred and create law and order issues," the official said.

The intelligence department has already sent a missive to all the SPs and senior police officers in the state to stay alert, considering the communal unrest in Bangladesh.

In a detailed alert sent to DG, ADG (Law and Order) and all the SPs and Commissioners, the Additional Director General (Intelligence Branch) said, "Input further received reveals that some incidents of vandalism and arson on Hindu temples, Durga Puja pandals are reportedly taking place in Noakhali district and Chittagong district in Bangladesh after completion of Jumma Namaz. Iskcon temple at Noakhali has also been vandalised".

Since October 13, social media platforms have been flooded with posts of vandalism of Durga Puja pandals in Bangladesh.

"Districts bordering the India-Bangladesh border have become hypersensitive and the leaders of different Hindu fundamentalist organisations in India have become pro-active. They are issuing press statements and urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps for immediate relief to the Sanatani people of Bangladesh," the alert said.