Dhaka: Fact-checking body Rumor Scanner debunked a video clip claiming to be taken from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) showing some armed men in military uniform, saying the video originated from the Indian Manipur state, not CHT.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that a video claiming to be from the CHT has recently gone viral on social media, showing armed men dressed in military uniforms. The fact-checking watchdog published a report on its website today clarifying that the video in question is not from the CHT. Instead, it is related to the conflict between the Kuki and Meitei groups in the Indian state of Manipur.
A longer version of the video was discovered on a Facebook account named ‘Thangjam Chingsangngakpa’, a resident of Imphal, the capital of Manipur, at 7:46 pm on December 17 last year. The same video was also posted by another Indian Facebook profile named ‘Eshita Angom’ about an hour and a half before the said post. The Meitei caption of the video, when translated, reads, ‘If Kuki militants attack, we Meitei will be forced to take action.’
An analysis of Ishita Angom’s Facebook profile shows various posts regularly supporting the Meitei community in Manipur. Based on these data, it appears that this video is related to the conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur.
Rumor Scanner highlighted a 2023 report published on the website of the international human rights organization International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) which states that the conflict between the Kuki and Meitei began on May 3, 2023. On that day, the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) organized marches in various districts to protest a court order to expedite the recommendation for including the Meitei in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Clashes erupted soon after the march.
The court’s April 19 order requested the state government to respond to a 2013 letter by considering the petitioners’ claims and stating its stance within four weeks. The pending verdict in this case triggered the conflict. A report published in the Bengali edition of Voice of America on May 4, 2023, corroborated the same information.
Thus, the viral video claiming to depict a scene of armed groups in the CHT is false, concluded Rumor Scanner.