The Verdict [False]
A video of a traditional idol immersion ritual from Bengal was falsely circulated as idol vandalism in Bangladesh. The clip has no communal angle.
What is the claim?
Amid growing religious tensions in Bangladesh, which intensified following violence over the arrest of a Hindu religious leader in Chittagong, a video claiming to show the ‘vandalism’ of a Kali (a Hindu goddess) idol has gone viral on social media. The clip shows two men being lifted by a crowd as they attempt to break apart a Kali idol, eventually severing its head. Another broken idol is visible beside the Kali statue.
One user shared the video on X, writing, “While Islamists in Bangladesh are attacking Hindu temples and vandalizing deities, their leaders are profiting by importing essential food items like potatoes, spices, lentils, and eggs from India.” Archived versions of such posts can be found here, here, and here.
However, our investigation found that the video was filmed in Sultanpur, a town in the Purba Burdwan district of West Bengal, during a traditional Kali idol immersion ritual. It is not related to the ongoing religious tensions in Bangladesh.
How did we find the truth?
We located similar footage on Instagram (archived here) and YouTube (archived here), where the crowd is shown breaking an idol apart. These videos confirm the scene depicts the ritual of immersing the Hindu Goddess Kali idol in Sultanpur, West Bengal, which occurs every 12 years. Upon comparing these videos with the viral clip, we confirmed they show the same temple. The semi-broken Kali idol, the other broken idol beside it, and the designs on the wall behind them are identical. Additionally, the same two men—a person in a blue shirt and another in a checked shirt—appear in the footage.
Further investigation led us to a six-minute video (archived here) on Facebook that includes the viral footage. In this extended video, the two individuals seen breaking the Kali idol’s head are shown, along with people carrying the broken pieces and a large crowd surrounding the idol-breaking process. The caption reads, “Sultanpur Kiranmoyi Pathagar’s Maa Kali idol immersion after 12 years.”
Sultanpur Kiranmoyi Pathagar is a local club in the Purba Burdwan district, West Bengal. We found the club’s Facebook page, which shared multiple videos (archived here) of the idol immersion event on November 26. In one of these videos, people can be seen carrying broken parts of an idol.
Logically Facts reached out to Debashish Mondal, a member of the club, who confirmed the video’s origin. Mondal explained, “The video is from our Kali Maa temple in Sultanpur. This year, the idol of Maa Kali, along with the four children of Durga—Ganesh, Laxmi, Kartik, and Saraswati—was immersed. This is a traditional immersion ritual that occurs every 12 years. The Kali idol is 12 feet tall, and it’s difficult to immerse it without breaking it apart. As part of a 500-year-old tradition, we break the idol, including the head, and immerse the pieces in the pond. This is a well-established custom, and many people participate in the event. The video is unrelated to the conflict in Bangladesh or any other issues.”
This is also confirmed by a report from the Bengali newspaper Dainik Statesman, which describes the traditional Kali idol immersion ritual in Sultanpur, where the idol is broken into pieces and immersed in the pond.
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The verdict
A video of a traditional idol immersion ritual from Bengal has been shared with the false claim that it shows ‘idol vandalism’ in Bangladesh. The clip has no communal context and is unrelated to the situation in Bangladesh.
Reference Links
R@ghu nath Dey – Refutes
JoB SearcH – Refutes
উড়ো চিঠি – Refutes
Sultanpur Kiranmoyi Pathagar – Refutes
Maa Kali will be immersed after 12 years along with Durga’s four children in Sultanpur – Dainik Statesman – Refutes
This article is written by Rahul Adhikari and republished from Logically Facts. Read the original article here.
With inputs from Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective.
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