'500-year-old Hindu temple demolished on Tarique Rahman's orders'? What really happened in Noakhali

"500-year-old Hindu temple demolished in Bangladesh on Tarique Rahman's orders", "Tarique Rahman ordered the demolition of a historic temple in Bangladesh after Suvendu Adhikari's government relocated a mosque in West Bengal", "BNP leaders demolished a Hindu temple in Noakhali" — these were among the headlines published by several Indian media outlets, including The Statesman and Kolkata 24x7 this week.

The claim also spread widely on social media, with many users alleging that Bangladesh's Hindu population was under threat and that the government was patronising the destruction of minority religious sites.

Daily Waadaa Fact-Check investigated the claim and found it false.

What are the claims?

The claims began circulating after videos showing a bulldozer demolishing a structure in Sonaimuri, Noakhali. Many social media users, along with several news outlets, alleged that the structure was a 500-year-old Hindu temple, with some identifying it as a Shiva temple. (Here, Here)

They further claimed that the demolition was carried out by the local administration and BNP leaders on the orders of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, without prior notice, portraying the incident as the deliberate destruction of a historic Hindu religious site.

Some posts also linked the incident to the recent relocation of a 136-year-old mosque in India's West Bengal, alleging that the demolition in Noakhali was a retaliatory move. (Here, Here)

What actually happened?

The investigation found that the viral claim is false.

Waadaa found the demolition was not a communal or targeted action but part of a road expansion project in Noakhali as it spoke to officials involved in the road expansion project, members of the local Hindu community, and local administration.

Md Abdur Rahim, Sub-Assistant Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Noakhali said the plan to widen the road into a four-lane highway was approved and the work order was issued in December 2025, two months before the last general election. 

Tarique Rahman assumed office as prime minister only in mid-February 2026.

"As part of the same road expansion project, we also had to remove parts of several mosques and even a Muslim graveyard. People from all communities cooperated with us throughout the process," Rahim said.

He said the Roads and Highways Department started marking the designated areas in December last year after receiving the work order.

We publicly announced the markings, made microphone announcements, and informed local residents through direct meetings during January and February 2026”, Rahim said.

Sonaimuri Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Naznin Akhter said despite repeated public announcements and prior markings, no objections or complaints were received from members of the local Hindu community regarding the demolition.

Ratnadwip, a local Hindu leader and Assistant Secretary of the Sonaimuri Temple Committee, also rejected the viral claim.

"The monastery was very old and completely abandoned. The structure was in a dilapidated condition, and we never saw anyone go there to worship”, he told Waadaa.

Deliberate campaign from an X account

Waadaa reviewed dozens of posts on X, formerly Twitter, and examined reports published by several Indian media outlets, including The Statesman. 

The investigation found that ‘The Voice of BD Hindus’, an X account with a large following, was among the first to circulate the claims. 

Most of the subsequent posts by other social media users and reports by media outlets, including The Statesman, appeared to rely on this account as their source.

An investigation of the X account's history found it had previously been involved in spreading misleading or false information.

The account had earlier operated another account named Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus, which was later suspended by X following repeated allegations of disinformation and propaganda. (Link)

For instance, on June 29, 2026, the account portrayed the suicide of a young Hindu man as a communal killing. The claim was later debunked by independent fact-checkers, who found no evidence of communal motives. See here.

The following day, the same account claimed that Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced a former police officer to 20 years in prison for killing a Hizb ut-Tahrir leader. That claim was also found to be misleading and was subsequently debunked by fact-checking organisations. Here is the link.

The account's misleading posts have not only been debunked by Bangladeshi fact-checking organisations but also by Indian fact-checkers, including Alt News. (here, here)