Case file · High strangeness
Padma Bridge 'human heads' rumour
In July 2019 a rumour spread in Bangladesh that the Padma Bridge needed human heads and children's blood for its foundations; mobs killed eight people suspected as child abductors.
2019 CE · 23.78, 90.43 · status: explained
The account
Among the victims was Taslima Begum Renu, a mother killed while visiting a school in Dhaka. Police arrested rumour-mongers and closed dozens of social-media accounts.
The sceptical view
The rumour revives the old South Asian belief in foundation sacrifice; police said none of the victims had abducted anyone.