Videos of Assamese police falsely shared as Chittagong Hill Tracts
Social media is currently in a frenzy over the ongoing unrest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Two videos (1, 2) shared on Facebook claim to show indigenous people from the region holding modern weapons. However, Dismislab’s verification revealed that neither video is from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, but rather from Assam, India.
A Facebook user posted two reels one after another on September 20 (1, 2). Sharing the first reel, he claimed, “These are the ones who always disturb the peaceful hills.” In the second reel he shared, “The type of weapons that the indigenous people have is not even available to the army.” In both the videos, multiple men dressed in black can be seen standing in a hilly area with weapons in hand. The first reel went viral on social media. On Facebook (1, 2, 3) and YouTube, multiple users shared the same video claiming the same information. On YouTube, a video was shared from a channel called ‘Bangladesh O’ Clock,’ with the headline reading, ‘The indigenous people are trying to create a separate state for the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
To verify the claims made in the videos, Dismislab conducted a reverse image search using key frames from the videos, which led to the discovery of the original videos shared by a user named ‘Sambor Rongpi‘ on Facebook. The profile is followed by about 21 thousand users. Both videos were posted as reels in the profile on July 17 and on September 3; which dates long before the ongoing unrest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Facebook user also mentions his location in Karbi Anglong district in Assam, India. In addition to the discussed videos, he recently posted another one with the caption “Jungle Training.” In another video, they can be seen undergoing military training in their uniforms. During the verification, multiple videos (1, 2) and image (1, 2) of the person holding the camera, along with the original video of the second reel that went viral in Bangladesh, were found on the profile of the individual, Sambor Rongpi from Assam.
An analysis of Sambor Rongpi’s ID reveals that he is a police officer in Gauhati, Assam. A report from the Daily Assam Tribune dated August 14, 2022, states that “From Assam, Additional Commissioner of Police, Guwahati, Himangshu Das will be conferred with the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service while 12 other police officials have been named for Police Medal for meritorious service.” Sambor Rongpi (CT) was one of these 12 police officers. On his Facebook profile, in addition to the two discussed videos, he has shared numerous other videos of training and time spent during the training sessions (1, 2, 3) in the same region. Which confirms that the claim of indigenous people holding weapons in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh in these two videos are false.
A user named A H M Faruk, claiming to be a journalist, shared one of the viral videos on his Facebook profile, saying, “Look at how organized they are, equipped with modern weapons like a regular force in the hills of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Yet, to the blind and ignorant intellectuals, they appear helpless, innocent, and hapless…” This post has garnered over 40,000 views, more than 400 reactions, and nearly 100 comments on Facebook, and it has been shared almost 500 times.
The ongoing conflict in Khagrachari and Rangamati has raised concerns as it threatens to escalate into widespread violence, warned the Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). On September 18, violence escalated in the Noapara area of ward No. 6 in Khagrachari Municipality following the death of a young Bengali man named Mohammad Mamun. The situation escalated into violence after protests and attacks in Dighinala on September 19. The local administration has imposed Section 144 in Rangamati and Khagrachari districts due to the deteriorating law and order situation.
