A photograph of a funeral possession is being circulated with the claim that recently a Hindu doctor succumbed to COVID-19 in Pune. Apparently no one in his family volunteered to carry his body to the crematorium, therefore, local Muslim youths volunteered and performed his last rites.
Below is the entire WhatsApp Forward that is doing the rounds:
"#TablighiJamat
Today MBBS Dr. in Pune. Ramakant Joshiji has died of Corona. He has a boy but he lives in America and wife is 74 years old and Dr. They wanted to go on the shoulders of 4 people, but no family was ready to come to them because of Corona. This incident came in front of Muslim youths connected to Tabligh Jamaat who are engaged in religious preaching, and then they made all the arrangements and put the dead body on their shoulders to the cemetery and perform the funeral rites.
* This is my country and Maharashtra of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Muslim society is considered bad but once you show affection towards Muslims they will give their life for you
The Muslim community is considered bad, but the one who ran for the most help during the Corona period is the Muslim community.
Thank you
Author
Rajendra Pawar,, Natpute,, District,sangli."
A report by kohraam.com which carries the viral photo also reported the same incident. The report was published on August 28.
The report cites a Facebook post as a source of information.
However, it is mentioned in the caption of this post that the narrative has been copied from elsewhere.
The Logical Indian received a request to fact check the claim.
The claim has also been shared on Twitter and Facebook.
@sinha_ankit9 This is a case of Pune doctor who died because of Covid-19... muslims are performing funeral for this man because his own kids are abroad...his name is Dr Ramakant Joshi.. would you have done this for any muslim? pic.twitter.com/NNrStqicse
— Roman Kravencheko (@Romankrevenche1) August 28, 2020
This is a case of Pune doctor named Dr Ramakant Joshi, who died because of Covid-19... muslims are performing funeral for this man because his own kids are in abroad.
— Mazhar Farooque (@MazharFarooque) August 30, 2020
'कोरोना से हुई डॉक्टर जोशी की मौत, तबलीगियों ने किया आकर अंतिम संस्कार'
https://t.co/Ud0nl43rmI pic.twitter.com/kj1SzYEV4D@shaziailmi @ShahnawazBJP @naqvimukhtar @Venkatesham_IPS @narendramodi @AmitShah
— Rahul Sharma 🇮🇳 (PK) 📩 (@SensibleOfficer) August 30, 2020
Pune lost Dr Ramakant Joshi
today, funeral was carried out by our fellow Indian citizens as the son could not turn up from US
This country hates Afzal Guru's but loves it's citizens not by caste pic.twitter.com/v02iO2Gwsk
Funeral procession of a Hindu Doctor From Pune was conducted by local Muslim youths in absence of his family members.
The claim is false. The photo is from a separate incident that occurred in April, 2020.
A reverse image search of the image led to a report by Asianet News from May 1, 2020, which carried the viral photo.
According to the report, the photograph actually shows the funeral procession of Ramesh Mathur, a 68-year-old temple priest from Meerut's Shahpir Gate, a Muslim dominated locality.
His body was adorned with marigold flowers and carried by men in white skull caps.
"My father had a tumour in his food pipe. The treatment was going on for long. But, suddenly on Tuesday afternoon, he passed away leaving us distraught. My elder brother, who was in Delhi, could not reach home on time as there was some difficulty in arranging the pass. Relatives, too, could not come due to lockdown. This is when the neighbours came out for our help and took the funeral for last rites to crematorium," Times Of India quoted Chandar Mauli Mathur, the younger son as saying. This report also carried the viral image.
Further, local journalist, Piyush Rai, had also tweeted the photograph on April 28, 2020.
"Picture taken during funeral procession of 65-year-old Ramesh Chandra Mathur, a Meerut resident who died of illness today," the tweet read.
Picture taken during funeral procession of 65-year-old Ramesh Chandra Mathur, a Meerut resident who died of illness today. pic.twitter.com/eMVsTGS2lU
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) April 28, 2020
Therefore, the photograph is unrelated to the narrative that is being shared on social media. In relation to the narrative being shared, no such reports were found.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Fact Check: Photos Of Interfaith Couple Shared With False 'Love Jihad' Claims
Aditi, part of the fact checking team of The Logical Indian likes to read, write, cook and laugh, in short live life as it is supposed to be. What makes her fascinated is to discover the truth behind a story and more often than not, it is either fact or myth at the end.
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
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