Fact Check: Gandhi’s statue decapitated in Bangladesh? No, incident happened in West Bengal

Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing internal strife in Bangladesh and growing tensions with India, an image and a video of a decapitated statue of Mahatma Gandhi have been circulating on social media, claiming that the incident occurred in Bangladesh.

Sharing the clip of the decapitated statue, an X user wrote, “Sar Tan Se Juda of Gandhiji in Bangladesh. But Gandhiji’s was just a statue. The Sar (brain) Tan se juda is happening in Bangladesh society…”

Similar claims can be found here and here.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as the incident occurred in Chakulia in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district on January 15.

A reverse image search led us to the same photo of the statue posted by X users, including the BJP’s West Bengal handle, on January 16. The posts stated that the incident occurred in West Bengal’s Chakulia on January 15.

We also found the incident reported by ABP Ananda in a report published on January 16.

According to the report, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised during violent protests on January 15, while people were protesting the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) hearings of voter lists. The report also mentioned that protesters ransacked the Block Development Officer (BDO) office, leaving the area in ruins with burnt debris and damaged items.

The Telegraph reported on January 17 that a bust of Mahatma Gandhi was damaged during mob violence on January 15. It also reported that arson at the BDO office to burn files related to the SIR of Goalpokher-II block in Chakulia, North Dinajpur, occurred on January 16.

The incident was also reported by local Bengali media outlet K TV on January 16. The video report carried visuals of the decapitated statue.