New Delhi: A message viral on social media claims an Uttar Pradesh-based journalist was murdered for talking about the Kumbh Mela’s role in pushing up cases amid the ongoing Covid-19 surge. It includes a video of the journalist, Pragya Mishra, talking about the Kumbh Mela and Covid, and images of a woman lying in a pool of blood.
However, the post is a hoax. A closer examination of the images reveals that the woman is not Mishra, but Neelu, a hospital staffer who was stabbed to death — allegedly by her husband — in Delhi’s Rohini area last week.
Mishra also tweeted a clarification Sunday, saying the reports of her death are rumours. She said she is currently at home because of Covid protocol.
Murder video had gone viral
In a video that has been shared by many social media users over the past week, Mishra is seen questioning the government for allowing the Kumbh Mela to be organised despite the surge in Covid cases.
The mela is adding to the number of cases, she says, and questions people for attending it despite knowing as much.
The viral message about her “murder” said she had been killed “in broad daylight, because she was talking in news about kumbh mela in the era of coronavirus”.
A website even picked up the message and wrote what appeared to be an obituary for Mishra.
The Rohini murder of hospital staffer Neelu was caught on film by a CCTV camera near the crime scene, and images and a video recording of the incident had gone viral. In the video, Neelu and a man are initially seen talking to each other. After a while, the man starts stabbing her repeatedly. Neelu’s husband Harish Mehta, who was allegedly opposed to her job and suspected her of infidelity, was subsequently arrested for the crime.
In association with SM Hoaxslayer
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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