A video showing a mob vandalising and bringing down parts of a building has gone viral on social media with a misleading claim that it shows the demolition of the 136-year-old Gauripur Jama Masjid, also known as the Bankra Mosque, near Kolkata airport.
Several social media accounts, including Pakistan-based accounts, shared the footage while claiming that the mosque had been demolished to make way for a Ram temple.
One widely circulated post alleged that the mosque was demolished because it was considered a security risk and accused the BJP and RSS of ordering the action.
However, the claim is false. Fact-checking by India Today and other fact-checking organisations found that the video has no connection with the Kolkata mosque. The footage originated in Bangladesh and shows a mob vandalising the house of a man accused in a child rape and murder case.
Video is from Bangladesh, not Kolkata
The first major clue came from examining the visuals in the viral video and conducting a reverse image search.
The search led to Bangladeshi reports and social media posts carrying the same or matching footage. The visuals were linked to an incident in Pabna district of Bangladesh, where an angry mob attacked and vandalised the house of Mustafa Pramanik, who was accused in the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl.
The incident was reported by several Bangladeshi media organisations, with reports describing the vandalism of the accused man’s house following the child’s death.
The building shown in the viral video was therefore not a mosque and was not located near Kolkata airport.
What happened in Pabna?
According to reports from Bangladeshi media, a 10-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Pabna Sadar Upazila.
Police arrested two men in connection with the case, identified in reports as Mustafa Kamal or Mustafa Pramanik and Mohammad Yasin, with variations in the spelling and identification across reports.
The incident sparked anger among local residents. An angry mob subsequently attacked and vandalised the house associated with one of the accused.
Bangladeshi reports carried visuals of the damaged building that closely match the footage later circulated as an alleged mosque demolition in Kolkata. Fact-checkers found no indication in those reports that the structure was a mosque.
The same visuals were also traced to a Facebook post dated September 20 and other reports relating to the Pabna incident.
The Kolkata mosque is a separate issue
The viral claim appears to have gained traction because there is a real and ongoing controversy involving a historic mosque at Kolkata airport.
The Gauripur Jama Masjid, also known as the Bankra Mosque, is around 136 years old and is located within the premises of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
The mosque has been the subject of discussions over airport security, access for worshippers and proposed relocation. These developments are real, but they do not establish that the structure shown in the viral video is the Kolkata mosque.
This distinction is important because the false social media claim appears to have combined a genuine news controversy with unrelated footage from another country.
What is the actual status of the Kolkata mosque?
Reports from July 2026 said authorities had restricted access to the 136-year-old mosque because of security concerns.
The mosque is located around 165 metres from the airport’s secondary runway, according to reports. Its location has been described as an issue for airport operations and future modernisation plans.
The controversy has included discussions about relocating the mosque. Authorities have cited airport security and operational concerns, while the mosque’s status and relocation have been the subject of discussions with concerned parties.
Importantly, fact-checkers searching for credible reports of the mosque actually being demolished found no credible confirmation that the structure had been demolished.
Therefore, while there has been a genuine dispute over access and the possible relocation of the mosque, the viral video does not document the demolition of that structure.
No evidence that the viral video shows a Ram temple project
Another central element of the viral claim is that the mosque was demolished to make way for a Ram temple.
Fact-checking found no credible evidence supporting this claim.
The video itself does not show the Gauripur Jama Masjid, and the building seen in the footage has been identified through reverse-image searches and matching Bangladeshi reports as the house of a rape-murder accused in Pabna.
The claim about a Ram temple is therefore also unsupported by the evidence examined.
Verdict: False Claim
The claim that the viral video shows the 136-year-old Gauripur Jama Masjid near Kolkata airport being demolished is false.
