The Press Wing of Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser has dismissed a widely circulated video as “false and misleading,” which alleged that an elderly Hindu man was publicly humiliated by radical Islamists.In a statement posted on its verified Facebook page, CA Press Wing Facts, on Sunday night, the office clarified that the video had been misrepresented online.The viral clip, shared extensively across social media platforms including X, claimed that a Hindu schoolteacher with 40 years of service was forced to wear a garland of shoes in a public act of humiliation by Islamist extremists, framing it as religious persecution against Bangladesh's Hindu minority.However, according to the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing, investigations — including reverse image searches and media verification — found that the claims were baseless. Credible Bangladeshi outlets like Kaler Kantho, Dhaka Times, and bdnews24.com confirmed that the man in the video is not a Hindu teacher but Ahmad Ali, a retired Muslim community medical officer from Tekati village in Baliakandi upazila, Rajbari district.A report by Kaler Kantho on June 15 stated that Ahmad Ali was assaulted and paraded through a market with a garland of shoes after allegedly making derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at a local tea shop. Dhaka Times and bdnews24.com corroborated the context, noting that the incident sparked a mob reaction based on blasphemy allegations.The Press Wing emphasized that while the video itself is authentic, the narrative attached to it was fabricated and manipulated online to incite communal tension. “This was not an act of religious persecution against the Hindu community, but a localised incident driven by accusations of religious defamation — later distorted online to falsely portray communal violence,” the statement said.The office urged citizens and media consumers to verify content before sharing, particularly when such misinformation could fuel communal unrest.
