Certain hospitals in Mumbai are running organ trafficking rackets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By: Varun Kumar
August 3 2020

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Arrangements made to cremate a 43-year-old woman's body was falsely attributed as hospitals in Mumbai running organ trafficking rackets.A Facebook post has become viral on social media claiming that some hospitals in Mumbai running organ trafficking rackets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the post had also been shared in the form of an article on a website called Delhi Crime Press. The viral story was credited to an Om Shukla, who is Special Crimes Investigator. In a Facebook post dated July 21, Versha Verma was the woman seen in the viral photos. She called out Om Shukla for misusing her photos to falsely claim that an organ racket was operating in Maharashtra and clarified that she and her colleague Deepak Mahajan cremated unclaimed bodies through their NGO Ek Koshish Aisi Bhi. Also, she had uploaded the viral photos, with a message saying that they had cremated the unclaimed body of a 43-year-old woman who had been brought to Lucknow’s Civil Hospital but died during treatment. Versha had also filed an FIR with the Cyber Cell asking for action to be taken against Shukla. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.