Fact Check: Old image from 2017 incident linked to recent violence in Bangladesh

People sharing the photo are claiming that the woman is Purnima Rani from Rangpur. The caption of the viral post reads, "Purnima Rani said the attackers entered the house and wanted to know where her two young daughters were. He broke into the house and took away the money and cows. The house caught fire. (Rangpur, Prothom Alo)"

(Click here to view the above post)

(Click here and here to view more such posts)

(Click here to view the post going viral on Facebook)

Fact Check

The claim is misleading.

NewsMeter found a report by bdnews24, a Bengali news portal, published on 18 November 2017. It had carried the same image. According to the report, the police arrested a Union Parishad member in a case filed with Kotwali police station for setting fire to Hindu houses in Rangpur. The violence erupted following controversial anti-Islamic posts on Facebook.

A report by Prothomalo from 18 October 2021 on the recent violence in Bangladesh had quoted a woman named Purnima Rani whose house was attacked last week. "Purnima Rani said the attackers entered the house and wanted to know the whereabouts of her two young daughters. The miscreants broke into the house and took away 50,000 rupees and a cow. Niranjan Roy of the village said 21 houses of 15 families were completely burnt down. At least 50 houses in the village were vandalized and looted. The attackers took away at least 25 cows and 10 goats," it read.

It is therefore evident that the claim made through the viral post is misleading. It is true that a woman named Purnima Rani's house was attacked and looted during the recent violence in Bangladesh. However, the image that is being shared is from a 2017 incident.