Bangladesh Assault Video Gets False Communal Spin as ‘Islamist Attack’ 

A video showing a woman being assaulted in Bangladesh is being circulated with a false communal claim that she is a Hindu teacher attacked by Islamists. Our investigation found that the incident stemmed from a business dispute involving a clothing shop owner and her former employee, not a religious attack. The misleading claim has fuelled communal hostility online. 

The spread of misinformation can easily turn unrelated incidents into communal narratives and fuel religious hatred online. A recent video from Bangladesh was circulated with the false claim that two Muslim “jihadists” killed four members of a Hindu family in Bangladesh. This triggered polarised reactions and online hate against Muslims. 

In a similar case, a video going viral on social media allegedly shows  Islamists in Bangladesh attacking a Hindu female teacher. The video, apparently filmed on a street, shows a woman being attacked by a mob. The footage shows several police officers attempting to escort the woman away as the mob assaults her.

However, our investigation found the claim to be false and misleading.

What is the viral claim?

A user named @vikasindiafirst posted this video on X on  31 August, with the caption, ‘Female Hindu teacher attacked by Islamists in Bangladesh.’ The video had amassed more than  905,400 views and 3.4k likes.

In the comment section, one user wrote, “The jihadis are a danger to the existence of humanity; we should take lessons and strive so that this Bharat does not fall in the hands of Jihadis”. Another commented, “They are following the teachings they believe in. We should learn how to treat minorities from them…but our teachings are so sacred that we don’t do this ever. These people are no more humans; they are worse than animals.” 

These comments show how such claims can quickly fuel communal narratives online and create hostility. 

Several other social media accounts in India have also circulated similar videos. Instagram user @Voiceofhindus posted a video with a caption that reads, “Condition of Hindus in Bangladesh 🚨Female Hindu teacher attacked by Islamists in Bangladesh in front of Police.”

Another X user @HiNdU05019434 posted the video with the caption, “Female Hindu teacher attacked by Islamists in Bangladesh,,”

The post, shared on 31 August 2026, had garnered 2,900 views as of 2 September.

The video was also shared by several other X and Facebook accounts. A Facebook account named Shruti Yadav shared the same video, which received 763 reshares and 387 comments.

Communal and hateful reactions

The comment section featured polarised reactions. One user wrote, “Secular insects of Hindustan maintain Brotherhood”. Another user commented, “They do the same with their mothers and sisters.” While many comments condemned the assault and expressed concern over the condition of minorities in Bangladesh, others used derogatory language against Muslims and called for similar treatment of Muslims in India. 

Tracing the origin of the video

We conducted a reverse image search using key frames from the video, which led us to several Bangladeshi news reports, most of which were dated 30 August.

By comparing the video’s key frames, we found that the woman in the pink dress and the police officers surrounding her appear in both images.

This led us to an article published by Jago News 24, which reported that the dispute was between the owner Zakia Sultana and her former female employee, Shajanaz Parvin Brishti. The article reported that the dispute involved clothing shop owner Zakia Sultana and her former employee, Shajanaz Parvin Brishti. According to local traders quoted in the report, the dispute stemmed from Brishti’s employment and her subsequent move to a nearby shop. Zakia denied the allegations, saying that other traders were trying to damage her business. 

The local police said the incident stemmed from a business-related dispute. After being informed of the dispute, the police arrived at the market to contain the situation. Police said no formal complaint had been filed at the time the report was published.

The Daily Star also reported on 30 August that the woman in the video is Zakia Sultana. She owned a clothing shop in Kaderia Market in the Kapor Bazar area of Rajbari town. The news reports said that she was assaulted in public during a business dispute. Our analysis shows that the claim accompanying the video was misleading. 

Our analysis found that the viral video claiming to show a “Hindu female teacher attacked by Islamists in Bangladesh” is misleading. The woman seen being escorted by police is Zakia Sultana, a clothing shop owner in Rajbari town. The incident stemmed from a business dispute with a former employee, not a religious attack. Despite this, the video was reshared online as evidence of Islamist violence against Hindus, drawing hundreds of thousands of views and fuelling anti-Muslim hatred in the comments.