Photo of a crematorium from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh showing several funerals taking place is being shared with the false claim that it is from Gujarat. This is being shared in the backdrop of the rising number of COIVD-19 cases in the country and photos and videos showing overwhelmed crematoriums from Gujarat. The post links the ongoing West Bengal elections and questions the handling of the COVID-19 situation in BJP governed Gujarat. The viral photo is being shared with the caption, “Dear People of Bengal, This is Gujarat ruled by BJP for last 25 years. Do you want BJP’s Sonar Bangla?”
Another version of the image, with a campaign board for Prime Minister Narendra Modi photoshopped onto the viral image in a bid for satire, was shared by Md Ghulam Rabbani the Cabinet Minister of West Bengal’s Labour Department. The caption of the image identifies the location as the Bhadbhada crematorium in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
A reverse image search led to a cropped version of the viral image in a report by Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar. The visuals of the Bhadbhada crematorium, was found in a report by News18 Hindi, carrying another image of the site.
A comparison of the two images shows that several elements like the walls around the crematorium, the trees in the background, and the shed-like structures match. Visuals of the Bhadhbhada crematorium site in a report by NDTV, titled, ‘Madhya Pradesh Hiding Covid Deaths? Cremations Challenge Official Data’, also match the viral image.
It was found in a news report by NDTV stating that the crematorium workers are struggling with the daily pressure with problems ranging from running out of wood to blisters on their hands. The article dated April 14, 2021, further states that ambulances could be seen lining up with bodies as many waited on the roadside for their turn to perform funerals, looking for space to set up pyres. Similar visuals can be seen in this news report as in the viral image, the same crematorium can be seen as in the viral image. Thus, the images are circulating over the internet with baseless rumours to sway people.
