Fact Check: Video showing bodies being thrown into River Ganga is old and not related to Mahakumbh Mela
Mahakumbh Mela, recognised as the world’s largest religious gathering, began on January 13 and will conclude on February
Claim :
A recent video shows dead bodies being thrown into Ganga river at Mahakumbh MelaFact :
The video is old and is from May 2021, when dead bodies appeared on the banks of Ganga river
Mahakumbh Mela, recognised as the world’s largest religious gathering, began on January 13 and will conclude on February 26, 2025. Over 42 crore devotees took a holy dip at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj. A senior government official has advised journalists and visitors to delay their travel to Prayagraj by at least 2-3 days due to an overwhelming influx of pilgrims at the Mahakumbh. The crowd is expected to grow again on the occasion of Magha Purnima on February 12, 2025. At least 30 people have been killed and 60 others injured after a deadly crowd crush on Mauni Amavasya, due to a high inflow of huge crowds. Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the state in which Prayagraj is located, said that the crush occurred after pilgrims rushed to participate in an early morning bathing ritual, jumping over barricades intended to control crowds during the event. Some political leaders alleged that the state government covered up the number of deaths by throwing dead bodies in the river Ganga.
After this disaster, a long video with a reporter talking and showing dead bodies that have been washed to the shores of River Ganga. The video is in circulation with caption in Hindi “महाकुंभ... भाजपा सरकार के कार्य काल में यूपी गाजीपुर में मोदी योगी सरकार की पोल (what is poll?) खोलता यह वीडियो... जिसमें देखा जा सकता है कि, गंगा नदी में सैकड़ों लाशें तैर रही हैं... जहां एक तरफ महाकुंभ का डंका बजाया जा रहा है... वहीँ दूसरी तरफ उसी गंगा में अनगिनत लाशें तैर रही हैं... ये सब इसलिए कि, प्रदेश में झूठे, मक्कारों और बेशर्मों की सरकार जो चल रही है... जिम्मेदार कौन?...”
When translated, it claims “The Mahakumbh... This video reveals Modi Yogi government in UP Gazipur during the tenure of the BJP government... In which it can be seen, hundreds of dead bodies are swimming in the river Ganga... Where on one side, the Mahakumbh is being held in a prestigious manner... and on the other, countless dead bodies are swimming in the same Ganga... All this is because the government of liars, betrayers and shameless is going on in the state... Who is responsible?”
Here is the archive link of the claim.
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The video is not recent and does not show dead bodies being washed ashore during Mahakumbh mela.
When we extracted the keyframes from the viral video and searched them using Google reverse image search, we found that the original video was from the year 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The original video was shared by a YouTube channel of Brajbhushan Markandey. When checking the bio, we found that he was an Ex-member at Samagra Vikash India and ex- member of Zilla panchayat Ghazipur.
The video was shared with the description “We were near Har Balam Pur village of Mohammadabad tehsil under Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday 17 May 2021. After counting two dozen dead bodies on the banks of the Ganga in front of the village, we could not proceed further. Some men's and some women's dead bodies were in the sand and inside Ganga. Dogs were tearing and eating them. We called the Chief Minister's landline number but did not get through. We called on another number but still did not get through. When we called DM residence in Ghazipur, his employee gave us another number. That number was not picked up. We called 112 which could not be contacted, then tried to talk on the number of the District Magistrate and noted down the entire information. If this is the situation at one ghat of Ganga, then it is very difficult to say what will be the situation at various ghats of Ganga from Bijnor to Ballia. Dogs are eating the dead bodies. Dogs have become man-eaters. Fishes are eating these dead bodies, people will eat those fishes. It is very difficult to say what will be the effect of the people who will bathe in the water of Ganga and what will be the condition of the purifier. We have fulfilled our fundamental duties. I did not want to do the video but due to pressure from many friends and stupid comments, I fulfilled my fundamental duty today. We appeal to the countrymen not to throw dead bodies in Ganga and other rivers like this. Call the concerned. Take the support of the administration and the government. Social workers should also come forward in this.”
Upon further search, we found a report by NDTV published in May 2021. It states that dead bodies washed up on the banks of the Ganga were sighted for a second straight day today -- this time in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. The spot is around 55 km upriver from Bihar's Buxar, where more than a hundred bodies were found yesterday, evoking shock and anger. The Bihar authorities had argued that the corpses had floated down from Uttar Pradesh, as their state has no tradition of consigning bodies to water. With COVID-19 rapidly spreading through the rural parts of north India, the bodies in the river are suspected to be of COVID-19 patients.
According to an article published in CNN.com, at least 71 bodies have been pulled from the banks of the Ganges river in Eastern India, as a second Covid-19 wave ravages the country and engulfs its healthcare system.
Hence, the viral video is not recent and is not related to the Mahakumbh Mela. It is from May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
