Fact Check: Man attempts to bury his wife alive in Karnataka? No, video is from Bangladesh

Hyderabad: A video showing an elderly man trying to bury a woman is viral on social media with claims that the incident took place in Karnataka.

The video shows a man dragging a frail elderly woman out of a house. He then attempts to dig up soil with a spade and cover her with it. As the distressed woman cries out, he strikes her.

This video was shared on Instagram with the caption, “This incident is from Karnataka, where a 62-year-old mulla is burying his first wife alive in order to marry his 42-year-old sister. People are just making videos of it. Now think, friends, such people can never be anyone’s own.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video originates from Bangladesh’s Sherpur.

Using reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found that it was shared on Instagram on August 8 with the caption, “Husband attempts to bury paralysed wife alive in Sherpur, incident goes viral”.

To narrow down the location, we conducted reverse image searches along with keyword checks and found the viral video uploaded to the YouTube channel Daily Jugantor on August 10. The video was titled, ‘Is it just to go viral that a sick wife is being trampled to death? | Sherpur Viral Video | Daily Jugantor’.

According to the video’s description, the man is identified as Khalilur Rahman and the woman as his wife, Khosheda Begum. The incident occurred in Khosalpur Madhyapara village of Sherpur district, Bangladesh.

The same video was uploaded by the Independent Television YouTube channel on August 9 with the title “Storm of Criticism over Viral Video, Grandson Khokon Flees | Sherpur | Viral Video | Independent TV”

The description of the video confirms that the viral incident took place in Sherpur of Bangladesh. It also states that the viral video was filmed by the couple’s grandson, who shared it on social media.

It is worth noting that both Daily Jugnator and Independent Television are news organisations based in Bangladesh.

We found a report published by bdnews24 on August 9 with the title “Sherpur man caught on video trying to ‘bury paralysed wife alive’”. The report stated that the incident took place on August 8. The report stated that 70-year-old Khosheda Begum had been bedridden for six years after being affected by paralysis.

According to bdnews24, neighbours said Khosheda had been under treatment for years without improvement. Recently, she was denied proper care, and Khalil had become increasingly frustrated. They believe prolonged stress and anger may have driven his actions.

Several Bangladeshi media outlets, including Jagaonews24, Ittefaq and Jugantor, reported the incident. The reports stated that the incident was resolved with the help of residents in the area by the time local police arrived at the location.

Hence, we conclude that the video shows an incident that occurred in Bangladesh’s Sherpur district on August 8. Therefore, the claim that the incident occurred in Karnataka is false.