DHAKA, Jan 01, 2025 (BSS) - Fact-checking body Rumor Scanner today said the Cumilla fire that originated from a stove is being falsified as a communal attack. 

In an investigation the fact checking watchdog revealed that the recent fire incident in Madhaiya Bazar in Chandina Upazila of Cumilla was not a communal attack rather the fire service initially reported that the inferno originated from a stove. 

In addition, six of the 72 shops damaged in the fire belonged to Hindu community members, the Rumor Scanner said.

It said a fire broke out in Madhaiya Bazar in Chandina Upazila of Cumilla. In view of this, the incident of the fire is being propagated on the internet as a communal riot on the night of December 29 last.

A report titled "Traffic jams appeared to be grave constraints of Madhaiya Bazar, hundreds of shops have been burnt in the fire" was found on the website of the mainstream media Bangla Tribune on December 30. 

The report stated that a devastating fire broke out in Madhaiya Bazar in Chandina Upazila of Cumilla on the night of December 29. The fire service brought the fire under control after two hours, but the intensity of damage increased.

Fire service sources said that about 43 rooms were burnt in the two-hour fire. 

Every room usually houses over one shop. Accordingly, there could be more than a hundred shops. The initial loss has been estimated at Tk 43 lakh. However, this amount could increase further.

Fire Service Cumilla's Chandina Station Officer Anoy Ghosh said, "We initially believe that the fire spread from the stove of a sweet shop. However, one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the fire is flammable materials. Especially in that area, there were a lot of wooden pallets. In addition, the fire quickly got out of control because there were polythene and plastic products."

NTV, Jamuna TV and Banglanews24.com have published news on the same information.

To further verify the matter, the Rumor Scanner team collected the list of damaged shops prepared by the Madhaiya Bazar Traders Association.

Analyzing the list signed by Madhaiya Bazar Traders Association President KM Jamal and General Secretary Md. Anisur Rahman, it is seen that a total of 72 shops were damaged in the fire incident. Out of these, 6 shops are owned by Hindus. The 6 shops are- Dr. Srinath's Modern Pharmacy, Dr. Shanti Ranjan Roy's Upande Homeo Hall, Dr. Palash's Aditya Pharmacy, Chitto Ranjan Sarkar's laundry shop, Niranjan Chandra Debnath's laundry shop and Chandan Sarkar's shoe shop.

Later, when contacted to Madhaiya Bazar Traders Committee President KM Jamal, he told Rumor Scanner that the fire started from Md. Salam's sweet shop Salam Mishtanna Bhandar. Some shops here belonged to traditional religious followers.

Therefore, the fire incident in the market from stove in Cumilla is being propagated as a communal attack; which is completely false, the fact checking body concluded.