CLAIM
Viral video showing Hindutva supporters demolishing a 136-year-old Ghouri Jama Masjid in Kolkata
RATING JUSTIFICATION
The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.
To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a Google reverse image and keyword search to corroborate the claim.
Several users have been sharing a video across social media platforms since September 22, 2026, claiming it shows Hindutva supporters demolishing a 136-year-old mosque in Kolkata. However, the video is from Bangladesh’s Pabna district, showing the public vandalising the home of a man accused in the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl.
136-year-old Gouripur Jame Masjid, popularly known as the Bankra Mosque, located within the operational zone of Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, was indefinitely suspended in July 2026 due to aviation safety and security concerns. Authorities said the decision was taken to facilitate ongoing road repair work and the planned relocation of the historic mosque, citing aviation safety and airport operational requirements.
The move has triggered public and political reactions, with some expressing concern over the temporary suspension of prayers. Airport authorities, however, maintain that the restriction is only for the duration of the ongoing work and that devotees will be able to resume offering namaz once the relocation and access restoration process is completed.
HOW IT STARTED
On September 22, a user shared a video on X showing the public demolishing a building with the following caption: “Hindutva terror in Kolkata; 136-year-old Ghouri Jama Masjid near the airport bulldozed by RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) to build Ram Mandir. Muslims were crying and begging, but these saffron goons showed zero mercy and martyred the mosque.
The post gained 815,000 views.
Another account shared the same video with similar context with the following caption: “Indian Hindu Right-Wing Government has ordered the demolition of 130-year-old historical mosque in Kolkata”
The post attracted 102,00 views on X.
A digital media outlet shared the same video with a similar caption on Facebook, gaining 57,000 views.
Similarly, the video was shared by several other users on YouTube, Instagram, and X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here; collectively accumulating 32,000 views.
METHODOLOGY
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the RSS-led desecration of holy sites belonging to minorities in India.
A keyword search conducted to verify the news regarding the 136-year-old Gouripur Jame Masjid, popularly known as the Bankra Mosque in Kolkata, yielded no news reports of any desecration of the mosque.
A reverse image search conducted to trace the source of the video yielded similar visuals shared by a Bangladeshi media outlet, Jamuna TV, on their official YouTube Channel.
The video shared on Sep 18, 2026, was titled “Child Koli murdered after rape in Pabna; Villagers vandalise accused’s house.”
According to the video, a tragic incident occurred in the Dogachi Kulunia village of Pabna, where a 10-year-old child named Kamrun Nahar Koli was abducted, raped, and murdered. Enraged villagers vandalised the home of an accused person arrested in connection with the murder of a child in Pabna.
The same incident was also reported by another local Bangladeshi outlet, The Daily Shomoyer Alo, on Sept 18, with the headline: “Villagers destroy accused’s house after child was raped and murdered”.
Multiple other Bangladeshi news outlets such as DCB News, KB News, Daily Adin, Prothomalo, The Daily Star, and Ekhon TV also reported the same incident with similar visuals.
FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE
The claim that a viral clip shows a 136-year-old Ghouri Jama Masjid being demolished to build Ram Mandir by Hindutva supporters in Kolkata is false.
The video is from Bangladesh’s Pabna district, showing the public vandalising the home of a man accused in the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl.
EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES
July 13, 2026, Times of India news article:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/entry-to-airport-mosque-stopped-indefinitely/articleshow/132351179.cms
July 11, 2026, Republic World YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-7owj2f2rc
Sep 18, 2026, Jamuna TV YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cfw_6t-VzM&t=35s
Sep 19, 2026, DBC News YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhdQB1_y4eY