04 May,2021 06:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
A screenshot from the video that had sparked outrage
The Bandra police have sought the help of the Cyber Cell to probe a video purportedly showing an alive person, wrapped in plastic, being taken to a crematorium. They want to find out the date and time when the clip was shot and more details tied to it.
The video had gone viral on social media, sparking outrage and anger. While BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua had on April 20 shared it accusing the BMC of apathy, he could not provide any data to back his claim. This had prompted the civic body to file a case against him for spreading panic.
The police stepped up their efforts to unravel the clip after Chembur resident Bijay Gupta came forward saying the man in the video is their father. Bijay has claimed that his 70-year-old father had contracted COVID a year ago and doctors declared him dead. The family was allegedly not shown his face as hospital ward boys claimed they are not allowed to do so.
Bijay has told the police that his father Ramsharan Gupta had pneumonia and was admitted to a private hospital on June 24, 2020. After he was found COVID positive, he was shifted to civic-run Bhabha Hospital in Bandra on June 27. Two days later, he was declared dead and the family was called to a Santacruz (W) crematorium. Bijay said they were not sure whether the body was of Ramsharan as it didn't resemble his features.
Bijay said he wrote to the Bandra police about the body on April 21. He told mid-day, "I had visited Bandra police station 4 days back to know progress in my complaint. I was told they have roped in Cyber cops to get more information. Beyond that, they refused to tell me anything more."
A senior police officer said they have transferred the investigation to the cyber sleuths. The officer said, "We need to check the origin of the video like when it was shot and possibly get other sources of information. Therefore, we have asked the Cyber Cell to probe into it."
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Day of June 2020 when Gupta's father died
