Bijay Gupta says last year Bandras Bhabha hospital had said his dad had died and had told the family to come for cremation, but had refused to let them see his face citing COVID protocol
Bijay Gupta’s father, Ramsharan. Pic/Rajesh Gupta (right) A screenshot of the video tweeted by BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua
A day after Mumbai police booked a BJP spokesperson for fear-mongering through a video showing an alive man being taken to the crematorium, a family from Chembur came forward saying the man in the video is their father. Bijay Gupta has written to Bandra police claiming that BMC hospital authorities said his father died in June 2020 but never showed the body’s face.
ADVERTISEMENT
BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua had tweeted a video on April 20 wherein a purportedly dead body covered in a plastic sheet was lying in an ambulance. The video claimed that the person was in fact alive and being taken to the crematorium. Nakhua claimed that the video is from Mumbai. BMC approached Nakhua to know more about the video but he didn’t have any. Bhoiwada cops then booked Nakhua and arrested him. He was released on bail.
On Thursday night, Gupta wrote to Bandra police claiming that the man is his father, Ramsharan. Gupta claimed that the ward boys did not show the family the man’s face saying it was not allowed.
“My father had pneumonia and was admitted to a private hospital on June 24, 2020. His COVID test returned positive and we shifted him to BMC’s Bhabha Hospital in Bandra on June 27. On June 29, we got a call from the doctors informing us of his death. They asked us to come to Santacruz West crematorium,” Gupta told mid-day.
The Guptas noticed that the body was very weak and shorter in height. They asked to see the face but were not allowed to by the ward boys, who cited COVID protocol. “After the cremation, we took his ashes to Nashik and performed all rituals considering he was my father,” Gupta said.
But on Thursday, Bijay and his sister Nirmala, a resident of Ulhasnagar, came across the viral video. They were stunned to see their father alive. “We are sure it is him. When we rushed to the police station and registered a complaint, the cops said they don’t know about the date of the video and that they will have to check. I really want to know what happened to my father,” Gupta said.
Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer of the BMC remained unavailable for comment on the matter.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
