Old Video Circulates Claiming Clash at Dhaka University
A video has been circulating on Facebook claiming that a massive clash erupted among students, teachers, and Chhatra Dal leaders and activists with police at the university over the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election. However, Dismislab’s verification reveals that the footage is old, actually showing a clash between protesters and law enforcement agencies in front of the daily Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka, on November 24, 2024.
The misrepresented video circulated on social media on September 9 this year, with the caption – “Massive clash is going on between students and police at DU, police are charging batons against teachers and Chhatra Dal leaders and activists”. The same footage was shared from two other profiles (1, 2) with the same caption. The hashtags “DUCSU Circus-2025” and #StepDownFascistYunus appeared with the post. Several pages and profiles on Facebook (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) also shared the video.
The 1:21-minute clip shows police scuffling with several people and charging batons , as armed army personnel stand guard to control the situation. By the time of writing this report, the post had been viewed more than 85,000 times and shared nearly 700 times.
In the comment section, users left mixed reactions. One user wrote, ‘The BNP has no guardians.’ Another commented, ‘His goal is to create a civil war in the country and remain in power, uncle🙄🙄😑😑,’ while another advised, ‘Shut down student politics in educational institutions across the country.’
A few users, however, called the video fake.
Keyframe search of the social media footage led Dismislab to the original 2:21-minute video posted on a Facebook page on November 24, 2024. The first 1:21-minute of that video matches the video recently circulated on social media. The caption reads, “A peaceful program was attacked in front of the offices of controversial authoritarian newspapers like Prothom Alo and Daily Star. We want to know who is in charge of the country and who is running it.”
Relevant keywords search from the video caption revealed a 51-second video shared on the same day from an Instagram account called ‘nutshell_today’, which is similar to the video clip circulating claiming clashes at Dhaka University. The video text reads, “Today in front of Prothom Alo office at Karwan Bazar.”
A search on Google Maps also shows the video was filmed in front of the Prothom Alo office. The building seen in the video, which was circulated on Facebook with claims related to Dhaka University, is an exact match to the structure found on Google Maps.
A video report on the same incident was also published from the verified page of Ekushey Television-News after the protest on November 24, with the caption, “A ‘cow slaughter’ program in front of Prothom Alo to resist Indian aggression. This event was organized to make Prothom Alo and The Daily Star repent. The army and police dispersed it.” Several other media outlets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) also published reports detailing the incident.
So the video has no link to Dhaka University clashes involving police, students, teachers, or Chhatra Dal activists. It is from November 24, 2024, during the demonstration in front of Prothom Alo’s head office at Karwan Bazar.
It may be mentioned that a program of slaughtering a cow and a demonstration was organized under the banner of “Bangladesh Janogon” in front of the Prothom Alo office on November 24, 2024. The event was called in protest against The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, claiming that the two newspapers have “aided Indian aggression” in Bangladesh. At one point, law enforcers intervened, triggering chase and counter-chase with the protestors.
Disclaimer: The original version of this report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on September 11, 2025. 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.
