Fact Check: Video of student leader in Bangladesh ‘punished’ shared as atrocity against Hindu woman

Those sharing the video further assert that after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, during the alleged riots in Bangladesh, Jyotika was stripped, raped and burned alive amid religious slogans.

An X user shared the video and wrote, “This is Jyotika Basu-Chatterjee from Bangladesh, a woman who tirelessly worked for the education and health of both Hindus and Muslims through her humanitarian organisation. She helped poor women in every possible way, regardless of religion or caste. However, as soon as the riots began, fundamentalist men and women forgot everything. Jyotika was forced to do sit-ups, and after that, twenty people stripped and raped her. Then, amidst religious slogans, they burned her alive. Her brother recorded a live video of the incident, seeking help from the Indian government and sharing Jyotika’s story. Tragically, he too was later burned alive.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

A similar post with the same claim is here. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. Bangladeshi journalist Mahdy Hasan Talha confirmed her name is Sagarika Akter, a Muslim and a leader of the Chhatra League at Eden Mohila College.

The Chhatra League is the student wing of Bangladesh’s Awami League party, led by Sheikh Hasina. During the anti-quota reform movement, Chhatra League leaders were attacked by students who perceived them as supporters of the Hasina-led government.

Bangladeshi fact-checker Shohanur Rahman commented on a post with the video, debunking the claim. He stated that the woman in the video is Sagarika Akter, a Muslim and a Chhatra League leader from Eden Mohila College. He explained that Akter was allegedly punished for opposing students and using political power to torture them. According to Rahman, the incident occurred on July 17. (Archive)

He also included a screenshot of a Facebook post by Mahdy Hasan Talha, which identified the woman in the video as Sagarika Akter.

Based on the information from Rahman, we searched for Talha’s Facebook account and found the video posted on July 17. According to the bio, Mahdy Hasan Talha is a Bangladeshi journalist.

The post described how Sagarika Akter, a leader of the Eden Mohila College Chhatra League, was detained by students when she attempted to escape. They made her do sit-ups while holding her ears. Talha also used #quotamovement2024, #quotamovement, #edenmohilacollege and #Eden in the post.

For further corroboration, NewsMeter contacted Talha, who confirmed that the woman in the video is Sagarika Akter, a Muslim and leader of the Eden Mohila College Chhatra League. Talha stated, “The video was recorded on July 17 in the student hall of the college, while the Awami League government was still in power.”

He added, “Students were angry with Akter because she opposed the anti-quota movement from the beginning and is a beneficiary of the freedom fighter quota.” Talha also shared Akter’s admit card, which the students had seized. According to the admit card, the name of the woman is Sagarika Akter and she is a beneficiary of the freedom fighter quota.

When enquired about allegations of rape and murder, Talha dismissed the claim as false news. He said, “The college where the incident took place is a women’s college, where boys are completely banned. A few days after the incident, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina met the victim leaders, and Akter was also there.” He also shared the image of Akter meeting Hasina.

Finally, we ran a keyword search and came across media reports (here and here) published on July 29 which carried photos, including the one shared by Talha of Hasina meeting women leaders of the Chhatra League who were abused during the quota reform movement.

Hence, we conclude that the video predates the fall of the Hasina government and that the claim that the video shows a Hindu girl Jyotika Basu Chatterjee being tortured and forced to do sit-ups is false.