Incident occurred in Chapainawabganj, but claimed to be from Siliguri and Cooch Behar
A video recently circulated on multiple social media platforms claimed that, following a change of government in India’s West Bengal state, border fencing was being installed in Siliguri (Phansidewa) and Cooch Behar to prevent infiltration and smuggling. Several social media accounts identifying themselves as Indian news outlets also claimed that the footage showed Bangladeshi citizens attacking personnel of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) by throwing stones at them.
However, a fact-check by Dismislab found that the incident is more than a year old. According to the BSF, the dispute began over allegations of crop theft and involved an argument between farmers from the two countries. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) stated that Indian farmers attempted to cut down Bangladeshi mango trees following a dispute over harvesting crops. Reports from multiple news organizations indicate that the incident took place along the Chapainawabganj border.
On May 24, the India-based media outlet Public News X published a video report on its X (formerly Twitter) account. The 1-minute-39-second report shows members of the BGB and several civilians. The caption reads: “India-Bangladesh Border Tension. BSF personnel pelted with stones from Bangladesh side during fencing work in West Bengal (Siliguri & Cooch Behar). BSF showing full restraint, no shots fired. Fencing continues.” The video has been viewed more than 11,000 times.
On the same day, a YouTube channel identifying itself as a news outlet, News X Live, aired a 3-minute-43-second video report. Beginning at the 30-second mark, the report shows BGB personnel. Later, several people carrying sticks and improvised weapons can be seen. The news presenter states: “fresh visuals are coming in from Siligory where Bangladeshi locals have attempted stone pelting on BSF officials who were carrying out survey work in Phansidewa area.” The video has been viewed more than 63,000 times.
On May 25, an X account named Megh Updates posted the same video with similar claims. It stated that despite attacks by Bangladeshi citizens targeting BSF personnel during border fencing work in Siliguri (Phansidewa) and Cooch Behar, the BSF had shown extreme restraint. The post further claimed that, following the change of government in West Bengal, efforts to seal the India-Bangladesh border to prevent infiltration and smuggling were continuing.
The post has been shared 3,000 times and viewed more than 350,000 times. One commenter wrote, “Our army should shoot these Jihadis who are pelting stones. ” Another commented, “All these years they came and went as pleased, settled family here, smuggled drugs, stole cattle, hid Criminals. They can’t get used to having a Border.” The same claim was also circulated by other accounts identifying themselves as media organizations, including Facebook (The CSR Journal), X (The Alternative Media), and Instagram (The Trending Indian and Tube Indian).
Using keyframes extracted from the video, Dismislab conducted a reverse image search and found video reports (1, 2, 3) published by multiple Bangladeshi media outlets. According to those reports, the footage shows clashes between Indian and Bangladeshi citizens along the Kiranganj border in Chapainawabganj. The scenes in those reports, including the clothing of individuals carrying sticks, match the recently circulated video exactly.
In addition, Chapainawabganj shares a border with the Indian districts of Malda and Murshidabad, not with Siliguri (Phansidewa) or Cooch Behar.
A search using relevant keywords also yielded a report by BBC. According to that report, the BSF stated that the confrontation began with an argument between Bangladeshi and Indian farmers over allegations of crop theft. Colonel Md Imran Ibne A Rouf, sector commander of the BGB Rajshahi Sector, and Mohammad Azhar Ali, the local upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), confirmed to BBC Bangla that Indian farmers had attempted to cut down Bangladeshi mango trees following a dispute over crop harvesting. During the clashes, the BSF fired tear gas shells.
Therefore, the video circulated with the claim that it shows clashes over border fencing in Siliguri (Phansidewa) and Cooch Behar following a change of government in West Bengal is actually an older video from a different incident that took place along the Chapainawabganj border.
All social media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.
The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on June 2, 2026. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.
