Old photo shared amid reports of dead bodies of suspected COVID victims found in Ganga

A photograph of scavenger dogs and crowd gathered around dead bodies floating on a water body has been shared amid reports of dead bodies of suspected COVID victims found floating on the banks of river Ganga in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Daman and Diu Congress Seva Dal had posted the picture on May 12.

जिंदा रहे तो अस्पताल न मिला और मरने के बाद श्मशान नही मिला
न्यू इंडिया गंगा नदी में सड़ी हुयी इंसानो की बहती लाशो को देखकर भी अगर आप सिस्टम से सवाल करने की हिम्मत नहीं कर पा रहे तो यकीन मानीये आप ग़ुलामी की जिंदगी जी रहे है ! pic.twitter.com/gn8WSeZ02D

— Daman and Diu Congress Sevadal (@SevadalDD) May 12, 2021

AAP leader Sushil Kumar Gupta had also shared the picture but later took it down.

It has also been shared on Facebook.

Old image

The photograph dates back to January 14, 2015. “Scavenger dogs and crow gather around dead human bodies that are floating in Ganga river near Pariyar in Unnao,” reads its description on Getty Images adding, “In a curious case, over 100 bodies have been fished out from river Ganga in this area of Uttar Pradesh over the past two days, prompting the Centre to rush a team of officials to enquire the reason behind it.” The photograph was shot by Amit Yadav.

Livement had reported in 2015 that “officials do not suspect a crime, and instead believe the dead were given water burials. It is Indian custom not to cremate unwed girls, and many poor people cannot afford cremation.”

While this image is old, there have been several reports of nearly 100 unidentified bodies found floating in the Ganga. The Indian Express reported that the dead bodies triggered “fears among local residents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that bodies of COVID victims were being dumped in the river”.

The report further said, “While authorities in both districts are yet to confirm if the bodies were of Covid victims, saying samples have been sent for tests, police in Buxar said they suspected the bodies may have floated in from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.”

Below is a video report by The Print on 71 bodies found floating down the Ganga at Mahadev Ghat in Bihar’s Chausa.

The Scroll reported that corpses were also found buried in the sand along Ganga river in Unnao.

Now, bodies found buried in sand along Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district

Over the last few days, bodies have been found floating in Madhya Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.https://t.co/vByPUJEnd0

— scroll.in (@scroll_in) May 13, 2021