Old videos of different incidents shared as Cumilla assault victim’s statement
On the night of June 28, a video alleging the assault and rape of a Hindu woman in Muradnagar, Cumilla, began circulating on social media. The incident quickly became a topic of discussion online. Shortly after, two more videos surfaced on Facebook, claiming to be the woman’s statement. However, verification shows that both videos are seven and nine months old, respectively, and are related to entirely different incidents.
According to a report by the daily Ittefaq, a video showing a woman being assaulted went viral on Facebook on June 28. The report states that on the night of June 26, a man named Fozor Ali was detained and beaten by locals in Ramchandrapur Pachkitta village of Muradnagar after being accused of raping a woman. Some individuals present at the scene filmed the victim and shared the footage on social media. Later, two unrelated and outdated videos were circulated online, falsely claiming to show the victim’s statement.
Video of rape victim in Natore falsely circulated as statement from Cumilla incident
A video falsely claimed to show a statement from a Hindu woman who was allegedly assaulted in Cumilla recently has gone viral on Facebook (1, 2, 3). In the first video, a woman is heard saying: “Today I was raped, there will be another one… I cannot accept this. If there is no death penalty, I cannot accept it. If he gets bail and roams around in front of my eyes, I’ve said I won’t keep living—I’ll end my life myself.”
The caption of the video reads: “A fiery statement from our brave sister who was raped in Cumilla! Muradnagar, Cumilla.” In the middle of the video, a photo card appears showing the headline “Awami League leader accused in Cumilla rape mislabeled as BNP in smear campaign” from Dhaka Times, along with a photo of the suspect from the June 28 incident.
However, when Dismislab traced the original video, it led to a post on the social media platform X, published on November 2, 2024. The caption of that post stated: “On the night of last September 25, local Muslim and BNP leader Rabiul Islam forcibly raped a Hindu housewife named Swapna Halder in Haldar Para area of Chhota Chowgram of Natore district.” The post included the full version of the video.
Using keywords from that post, a news report by News24 dated September 26, 2024, was found. The report states: “A rape case has been filed at the Singra police station in Natore against Robiul Islam, a local youth, for allegedly breaking into a woman’s house and raping her at knifepoint. The accused is the son of deceased Fazlu Biswas from Chhoto Chowgram village.”
In short, the woman seen in the video has no connection to the recent incident in Muradnagar, Cumilla.
Another victim’s video misused as identity of Cumilla woman from viral video
A second video has circulated on social media, falsely presented as the statement of the woman seen in the viral video from Cumilla.
The video caption reads: “Listen to the cries of a helpless Hindu minority girl!! On June 27, 2025, in Muradnagar, Cumilla, a leader named Joynal Molla used his power to harass and oppress a helpless Hindu girl in various ways. Hear the rest from the victim herself. What did this degenerate named Joynal Molla try to do? Location: Bangra Bazar Police Station, Muradnagar Upazila, Cumilla district.” The same video was shared in multiple posts (1, 2, 3, 4). In the video, a woman is seen speaking and claims she was harassed by someone named Joynal Molla.
Using keyword searches, Dismislab traced the video back to a Facebook post from June 1 of this year, shared by a page named “Star Muradnagar.” The caption reads: “Hear what Joynal Molla tried to do to this Hindu girl-in her own words. Joynal Molla is part of the Masud group, Bangra Police Station.”
Further keyword searches led to multiple media reports. A report published on September 17, 2024, by the weekly newspaper Amod stated that Joynal Molla, the then-member secretary of the Muradnagar Upazila wing of the BNP-affiliated Volunteer Cell, was sued at the Cumilla Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal for allegedly assaulting and attempting to rape a woman in Muradnagar. On September 19, 2024, a press release announced Joynal Molla’s permanent expulsion from the BNP Volunteer Cell.
In short, this video is also unrelated to the recent incident in Muradnagar, Cumilla.
