A set of images showing a dead body lying on a stature with a man standing over it and holding a limb in his hands is being shared with the claim that the deceased woman’s son broke her hands and legs due to the unavailability of government facilities in Odisha.
The claim also takes a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar scheme.
However, we found the incident to have taken place in August 2016 in Odisha’s Balasore district. In the incident, hospital workers were carrying the body of an 80-year-old Salamani Behera due to unavailability of an ambulance.
CLAIM
The claim further states that the son put the body in a bag and carried it in an incident that took place in Odisha.
The claim along with the images reads: “#मोदी जी ऐसे #आत्मनिर्भर भारत बनाना चाहते हैं सरकारी कोई सूबीधा नेही मिलने से अपने #मां के मृतक शरीर के #हाथ पैर तोड़ कर बस्ता में घुसा के ले जा रहा है बेटा,,, यह घटना #उडीसा के बताया जा रहा है’”
(Translated: Modiji wants us to become ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) in this manner, a son carried the body of his dead mother in a bag after breaking her hands and legs due to unavailability of government facilities. This incident is being told to be from Odisha)
The images shared by Facebook account of ‘I support Vinay dubay’ had over 8,000 shares at the time of publishing the article.
Several Twitter users have shared the images with the same claim.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A Google reverse image search led us to an article published by Jansatta in August 2016 which carried the viral images.
The article mentioned that the incident took place in Odisha when hospital workers broke the body of a woman and carried it on a bamboo bed due to unavailability of an ambulance.
Further, we also found an NDTV bulletin aired in 2016 that reported the incident. We found several similar elements in the visuals seen in the bulletin and the viral images.
For instance, the attire of one of the men seen in the viral image is same as that of the one seen in the NDTV bulletin. Further, the green door seen in the backdrop of the men is also same.
The other image seen in the viral posts also contains the same elements as compared to the NDTV bulletin. Again, the attire of the other man and the green cloth-like structure on the body appear identical.
Further, a text is scribbled on the wall which can be seen in both the bulletin and viral posts.
According to The Indian Express, hospital workers stood over the body of 80-year-old Salamani Behera, broke her bones, wrapped her and slung the body on a bamboo pole in Odisha’s Balasore district.
She had died after she was run over by a train near Soro railway station. Her body had to be taken to a hospital to conduct post-mortem, however, there was no ambulance, the report added.
Soro GRP Assistant Sub-Inspector Pratap Rudra Mishra had then told The Indian Express that he had first asked an auto driver to take the body to the railway station.
“But the auto driver asked for Rs 3,500 while we cannot spend more than Rs 1,000 for such purposes. I had no other option but to ask some Grade IV workers of the Soho CHC to carry it,” Mishra had said.
Evidently, an old incident from Odisha is being shared as a recent one.
(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)
(You can read all our coronavirus related fact-checked stories here.)
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on Whatsapp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)