How a Bangladeshi viral video was rebranded as ‘Love Jihad’ in India

Right-wing accounts have amplified a viral video with a “Love Jihad” narrative, claiming it is from Delhi University. However, evidence shows the clip is from Bangladesh and has been taken out of context to spread communal misinformation. 

Claims of “Love Jihad” frequently surface and spread across social media platforms, often amplified by right-wing accounts. X (formerly Twitter) has been a major breeding ground for the circulation of such content. The movie ‘The Kerala Story’ and its sequel have also drawn on—and found an audience for—these unsubstantiated claims circulating on X. This time, a visual is making the rounds, purportedly from Delhi University, linked to the “Love Jihad” narrative. 

The video shows a group of girls surrounding a man, beating him with slippers, and forcing him into a vehicle. The post claims that the man is a Bangladeshi “jihadi” who tried to give false advice to Hindu girls at Delhi University to trap them in “Love Jihad”.

OBC traced the truth behind the claim, and found that the original video is unrelated to the claims with which it is now being circulated.

What is the viral claim?

On April 28, a user named “Hindu Spirit” shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing a large crowd—mostly women—surrounding a vehicle, inside which a man is seated. The women near the vehicle appear furious and are seen attacking him with slippers.

The caption of the post reads: “A Bangladeshi jihadi was giving false advice to Hindu girls at Delhi University to trap them in love jihad. Then the girl students showed courage, caught the jihadi red-handed, and beat him with shoes and slippers. They then handed him over to the police.”

As of April 29, the post has garnered over 4,50,000 views and 15,000 likes, along with around 3,800 reposts.

One of the 244 comments reads, “It is important to spread awareness that these jihadis are here to exploit women. They are not interested in staying with you forever. There is no love and commitment in Islam. It’s only about reproducing and outproducing.” Many of the comments echoed similar sentiments, ridiculing Islam and stressing the need to caution young girls against  “love jihad.” 

Another user wrote, “Dear global pharma companies, please create a drug or medicine that can instill some self-respect, shame, and dignity among people of a particular disgraceful faith. They get beaten every day, everywhere, but are never ashamed.”

Some users also expressed their “pride” in Hindu women in Kerala “finally waking up.”

The post has been reshared by several other right-wing, Hindutva accounts with similar captions in both Hindi and English. Sheetal Chopra, who identifies herself as a Swayam Sevika (volunteer) of the RSS and has an X (formerly Twitter) account with over 1,36,000 followers, also shared the video. She captioned it: “Belt treatment to Bangladeshi jihadi by Delhi University girls… Hindu girls refused to be VICTIMS 🔥.” As of April 29, her post has garnered over 20,000 views.

The post has been shared on Facebook and Instagram as well.

What’s the real story? 

In the comment section, we noticed that the account that shared the video had posted a clarification stating: “Correction: this video is from Dhaka University, not Delhi University. Sorry for the spelling mistake.” Some other users also pointed out that the video is from Dhaka, not Delhi.

On X (formerly Twitter), premium users have the option to edit captions after posting. This particular account is verified, indicating it is a premium user. However, the caption of the post still refers to Delhi University, suggesting that it was not edited despite the correction shared in the comments.

Subsequently, we performed a reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This led us to a YouTube Shorts video posted by a Bangladeshi news outlet, Boishakhi TV, on April 26. The translated caption of the shorts reads: “Female student slaps outsider for making obscene gestures on DU campus | Dhaka University.”

Building on this, we conducted a keyword search using terms like “Dhaka man beaten” and “obscene gestures.” This led us to an English news report published on April 26, titled “Outsider Beaten with Shoes by DU Female Students After Obscene Gestures on Campus.”

According to the report, students at Dhaka University detained and physically assaulted an outsider after he was caught making “indescribable” obscene gestures and harassing female students. The incident took place on the afternoon of April 26 near the Faculty of Business Studies of the University of Dhaka. An assistant proctor confirmed the incident to the outlet, stating that the gestures were so offensive they were beyond description. “The students were rightfully furious, and it became a challenge to extract him from the crowd safely,” the report noted.

It also mentioned that visuals of a girl beating the man with slippers went viral on social media. The report further states that the suspect was handed over to the police.

This evidence debunks the communal claims made by several right-wing accounts in India that the visuals are from Delhi University. In reality, the video is from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The man seen in the visuals was allegedly misbehaving with women and was later handed over to the police following the altercation, according to Bangladeshi media reports. The “love jihad” framing by Hindutva accounts appears to be yet another attempt to communalise an unrelated incident and spread hate against a particular community.