Old video of Pakistan temple attack falsely linked to anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh

Religious tensions soared in Bangladesh in the chaotic aftermath of autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina's toppling, with Hindus targeted in attacks based on the minority faith's perceived support for her party. A video shared online, however, does not show a Hindu temple vandalised in the Muslim-majority country, as social media posts claimed. The clip has circulated since August 2021 in reports about a mob ransacking a temple in Pakistan.

"The plight of Bangladesh Hindu temples. Where are international human rights and the Indian government?" read a Hindi-language X post that shared the video on December 8.

"Rohingyas and Bangladeshi intruders should be thrown out of India and all trade and cricket matches should be stopped."

The post, which racked more than 34,000 views, shows footage of a mob smashing up a room decorated with Hindu deities.

The footage circulated on X and Facebook after supporters of an arrested Hindu leader in Bangladesh clashed with security forces on November 29 (archived link).

Outspoken Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally and denied bail, the Times of India reported (archived link).

Religious relations have been turbulent in the Muslim-majority country since a student-led revolution forced long-time autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India in August.

The chaotic aftermath of Hasina's ouster saw a string of reprisals on Hindus -- seen by some as disproportionate supporters of her government -- as well as attacks on Muslim Sufi shrines by Islamist hardliners.

The government in neighbouring India -- a Hindu-majority nation -- also sounded the alarm over the attacks.

The video shared online, however, was filmed in Pakistan years before Sheikh Hasina's ouster.

Ransacked temple

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video led to a report published by Pakistani newspaper Dawn on August 5, 2021 (archived link).

The article, which included a screenshot from the video and embedded an X post sharing the footage, is headlined: "Mob ransacks temple after minor boy gets bail in desecration case".

Hundreds of people attacked the Hindu temple in Bhong, a town in Pakistan's Punjab province, after a local court granted bail to a nine-year-old Hindu boy accused of urinating in a seminary, according to the report.

Below is the screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and a screenshot published in Dawn's article (right):

The Times of India, Hindustan Times and India Today also published the footage in reports about the attack (archived here, here and here).

Pakistan's then-prime minister Imran Khan condemned the incident on X, saying he had spoken to the provincial police chief to ensure culprits' arrests. He also said the government would restore the temple (archived link).

AFP has fact-checked a spate of misinformation around anti-Hindu attacks in Bangladesh following Hasina's ouster, including images falsely shared as a Hindu temple set on fire, a Hindu woman protesting the violence and Islamic clerics praying in a Hindu temple.