Clip shows brawl over mining dispute, not 'extremist Hindus' attacking Bangladeshi nationals
"Indian extremist Hindu terrorists are brutally torturing the relatives of Bangladesh patients undergoing treatment in various hospitals in India. Avoid India," reads the Bengali-language caption of a Facebook video shared on April 20, 2025.
The graphic video, which was viewed at least 23,000 times, shows a brawl with participants picking up hospital equipment to hit one another.
The same video was shared in similar posts in May elsewhere on Facebook.
"There are a lot of Indians living in Bangladesh, they will pay for this," reads a comment on one of the posts.
The posts circulated as relations between India and Bangladesh soured following the latter's August 2024 revolution that ousted New Delhi's old ally Sheikh Hasina (archived link).
Hasina fled to India by helicopter and remains in self-imposed exile. Dhaka has requested New Delhi allow Hasina's extradition to face charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government.
New Delhi, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Muslim-majority Bangladesh of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens -- charges denied by the caretaker administration of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
But the video circulating online does not show Bangladeshis being attacked in a hospital in India.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage used in a news report by India broadcaster NDTV, which was posted on YouTube on April 12 (archived link).
The report is titled, "Clash Breaks Out At Dera Bassi Hospital In Punjab Over Village Mining Dispute".
According to the video's description, the fighting took place at the sub-divisional hospital in Dera Bassi, Chandigarh and reportedly stemmed from "a dispute over alleged illegal mining in Mukandpur village".
"The chaos caused panic among patients and hospital staff, with frightened individuals fleeing the premises for safety," it added.
The brawl was also reported by other local media (archived here and here).
None of the reports say Bangladeshi nationals were targeted as part of an attack.
Bikramjeet Singh Brar, the deputy superintendent of police in Dera Bassi, Chandigarh, told AFP the clash in the Dera Bassi Civil Hospital on April 11 involved a group of locals.
Asked if any of the individuals were Bangladeshi nationals, Brar replied: "No. They were locals from Punjab only."
AFP has debunked other false claims which have surfaced following the ouster of Hasina's government here.
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