Fact Check: The Pied Piper of Bangladesh! Man attracting bees using flute is not devout Hindu, he’s a Muslim honey collector
India Today
A video of a man has gone viral on social media, with the claim that the modern-day devout Hindu man can sway honey bees with his flute. India Today's Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim to be misleading.
Just like the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin from German folktales who was known for his ability to command rats (and children) through his tunes, a modern-day devout Hindu man allegedly has the power to sway honey bees through his flute. A video has been making the rounds of social media with this claim.
Many on social media shared the video of a man dressed in yellow trunks and a saffron headband, playing the flute. A swarm of bees surrounded him, with many even sitting all over his face and body as he played a melody. Those sharing the video on Facebook and Twitter claimed that this devout man’s ability to mesmerise bees through his flute was an example of the greatness of Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism.
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that the man in this video is Mehtab Morol, a Muslim honey collector from Jessore, Bangladesh.
The viral posts are archived here and here.
Eighteen seconds into the viral video, a framed photo of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, widely known as Bangabandhu, the founding father and the first president of Bangladesh, could be seen behind the man. This hinted at the video possibly being from Bangladesh.
Subsequent searches with relevant keywords led us to many Bangladeshi news portals that reported this story. We also found more videos of the man on the YouTube channel of Gtv News and the Facebook page of Maasranga Television.
As per these reports, the man in the video was Mehtab Morol, a professional honey collector from the Jessore district of Bangladesh. The viral clip could also be seen in the Gtv News report from June 2021.
