Same fire video shared with conflicting claims blaming Jamaat or BNP

A video circulating on Facebook has been shared with two opposing claims. One version alleges that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Chhatra Shibir activists set fire to the home of a BNP leader in Rangpur district. Another version claims that BNP activists set fire to the home of a Jamaat supporter. But a Dismislab fact-check found no political link to the incident.

Local media reports indicate the fire occurred on February 13, 2026, in Birinchi, Feni district, where a house caught fire from a stove.

On February 17, a Facebook page called Public News Twenty‑Four posted the 13‑second clip showing a house burning at night. In the background, a man can be heard saying in a regional dialect, “Oh no! The whole house is gone. The nearby ones will catch it too.” The caption claimed: “Jamaat‑Shibir activists set fire to a BNP leader’s house in Rangpur.” The video had more than 200,000 views, 5,900 shares, and over 6,500 reactions at the time of publication.

The same day, another Facebook page posted the identical video with the opposite claim: “BNP set fire to a Jamaat activist’s home.” That version had more than 54,000 views, over 2,000 shares, and more than 3,200 reactions, along with 117 comments.

Additional Facebook profiles and pages (1, 2, 3, 4) also shared the video with similar claims.

A reverse image search of multiple keyframes led Dismislab to a February 14 Instagram post showing the same footage. Its caption read: “House fire in Feni! The incident occurred around 9 p.m. at the Khondokar residence in Birinchi, Feni Sadar. According to initial information, the fire likely started from a coil. The house was almost completely burned down. There is no indication of political involvement.”

A further search using relevant keywords found a February 13 video report on the Facebook page of Dainik Feni titled: “Fire destroys everything, newlywed couple in Birinchi left with nothing.” According to the report, the fire started around 7:20 p.m. on February 13 from a cooking stove, burning furniture, cash and all belongings inside. No political involvement was mentioned.

A livestream from a page named Feni Prottay showed a woman named Lucky Akter, one of the victims, saying their furniture, gold jewelry, Wi‑Fi router and cash were all destroyed.

In short, neither claim is true. The footage is from a house fire in Birinchi, Feni, not from a politically motivated attack by BNP or Jamaat‑Shibir in Rangpur.

Dismislab has previously published fact‑check reports on misinformation related to post‑election violence.