Fact Check: Viral video of man demanding justice for missing son in Bangladesh misidentified as Hindu community protest

A video showing an elderly man crying for justice, with a photo of a young man hanging around his neck, is circulating on social media. The claim accompanying the video suggests that the man is from the Hindu community in Bangladesh and that he is demanding justice for his son who went missing during the ongoing turmoil in the country.

An X user shared the video and wrote, “Bangladesh: A member of the minority Hindu community protesting with a poster of his missing son says "I will give my life but I want justice for my child. Where is my child? I have been going from door to door to inquire about my child but no one is listening to me.” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video shows a Muslim man, Mohammad Babul Hawaldar, protesting for his son, Mohammad Sunny Hawlader, who has been missing since January 10, 2013.

Origin of the fake claim

ANI (Archive) initially shared the video with the claim that it shows a Hindu man protesting for his missing son. The ANI report was later picked and amplified by Indian media outlets including Jagran, Navbharat Times, Zee Business, ABP News, and InKhabar. However, ANI later deleted the post and clarified that the individual is not from the Hindu minority community.

We came across a post by a Bangladeshi fact-checker Shohanur Rahman stating that the person seen in the viral video is not from the Hindu minority community. Rahman shared another video where the man, wearing a Muslim skullcap, is seen giving a statement to the media. He could be heard saying to the media, “My name is Mohammad Babul Hawaldar and my son's name is Mohammad Sunny Hawlader who has been missing since January 10, 2013. (Archive)

We also found a video of Mohammad Babul Hawaldar, live-streamed on August 13 on the verified Facebook account of Bangladeshi news portal Barta24. The video features a road blockade and a human chain demanding the return of missing relatives, including women in burqas and niqabs.

NewsMeter also reached out to Shohanur Rahman. He confirmed, “The viral clip is from a demonstration organised on August 13 demanding the return of missing relatives and the man seen in the video does not belong to the minority community.”

Hence, we conclude that the video does not show a Hindu man protesting for his missing son. The claim is false.