Staff Correspondent

Fact-checking organisation Rumor Scanner found in an investigation that an incident involving the killing of a Hindu man named Narendranath Munda in 2022, due to a land dispute, is being falsely portrayed as a recent communal attack.

In a report published Monday on its website, Rumor Scanner revealed that a photo of a man, claimed to be Narendranath Munda, was circulated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with the false assertion that he was killed in an armed attack by extremist Muslims in Satkhira’s Shyamnagar.

Upon investigation, Rumor Scanner confirmed that the incident involving Munda's death was not recent but rather occurred in 2022. Moreover, he was attacked not for communal reasons but in a land dispute. Narendranath Munda died on 20 August 2022 while undergoing treatment after being injured in the attack.

The viral post, which included the photo and false claim, was scrutinised but found to lack reliable evidence.

Further examination revealed that the image had originally been posted on 21 August 2022 by Facebook user Engr Mrinal K Madhu, who shared the photo along with the caption: "Narendranath Munda died while undergoing treatment at Satkhira Medical College Hospital after being injured in a brutal attack by attackers seeking to seize the property of the Munda community in Shyamnagar, Satkhira. We strongly protest this incident and demand exemplary punishment for the attackers. We call for building social resistance against the attackers."

Additionally, a keyword search led to a news article published on the Voice of America Bangla website on 21 August 2022, which reported: “Narendranath Munda, who was injured in a terrorist attack in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, has died, and two individuals have been arrested.”

The report explained that on 19 August 2022, over 200 people from Bangshipur, led by Rashedul Islam and Ibadul Islam of Srifalakati village, attacked the Munda community in Dhumghat in an attempt to seize land. The attackers vandalised and looted Munda houses, injuring several individuals, including Munda himself. Munda was later hospitalised but died on 20 August 2022 at Satkhira Medical College Hospital.

A news report on the same subject was available on the mainstream media outlet Prothom Alo at that time. The same information about the incident in question was also available from that report.

The report also revealed that a sit-in program was held on 1 September 2022 on the Shyamnagar Upazila Parishad premises, demanding justice for the murder of Narendra Munda and the attack on the Munda community. The speakers at that programme said that they (Mundas) are being attacked one after another just for the greed of property. The syndicate of the attackers must be broken.

Thus, the death of Narendranath Munda, caused by a land dispute in 2022, has been misleadingly propagated as a recent communal attack, which is false and misleading.