West Bengal elections: Truth behind alleged attacks on civilians by the Indian Army

A video allegedly showing Indian Army officers attacking civilians from minority communities in West Bengal—amid the elections—has gone viral on social media, sparking questions.

Some netizens reposting the video online had also claimed that the Indian Army was carrying out the purported attacks on minorities on the orders of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

While one netizen claimed that the attacks took place under orders from Rajnath Singh, another claimed that the officers had been acting under orders from PM Modi, andstill another tied the alleged attacks to issues in other parts of the country.

However, PIB Fact Check, the fact-checking arm of the Centre, has flagged these claims as "misleading".

"This is an old video from Bangladesh being falsely shared in the context of West Bengal elections 2026," it wrote in an X post on Thursday, calling out some users reposting the viral video.

"Do not believe such misleading content and always verify through official government sources," it added.

This indicates that the video may have gone viral for purposes of misinformation and/or inciting violence in the state ahead of counting on May 4.

In fact, despite scattered violence across pockets of the state—in addition to alleged EVM tampering, at least 19 arrests, and weapons being confiscated—the Election Commission of India (ECI) has called both phases of the elections here peaceful.

In order to keep the peace, it has also mandated that around 700 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) remain deployed across West Bengal after polling ends, until further orders.