An image showing a man ferrying a medical oxygen cylinder and an elderly woman on his bike is viral with false claims that it shows the current situation in India, which is reeling from a deadly second wave of COVID-19.
BOOM found that the image is from Bangladesh's Barishal, where the man ferried his COVID-19 positive mother and the cylinder on bike to reach hospital.
According to reports states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and others are grappling with the sudden spike of COVID-19 in the second wave of the pandemic. There has also been a growing demand for medical oxygen due to the unprecedented spike in the daily cases, following which the government has banned the supply of oxygen for industrial sector purposes, barring nine sectors.
The image was shared on Facebook with a caption, 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' or self-dependent India.
The image was also shared on Twitter with the caption, 'This is where we are.'
The tweet is archived here.
Also Read: Clip Of Man Stabbing Wife To Death Revived With Journo's Murder Claim
Fact Check
BOOM was able to ascertain that the image is from Bangladesh and not India. A board reading in Bangla "Barishal Engineering College" can be seen in the background. Barishal is a south central city of Bangladesh.
The caramel coloured wall of the building of the Barishal Engineering College can be seen in the Google Maps here.
Upon running a reverse image search, we were directed to the same image shared on April 18, 2021 by Bangladesh Journal. The publication reported that the image was shared on Facebook on Saturday by city police traffic surgent Touhid Tutul. We found the same image on Tutul's timeline.
An excerpt from Prothom Alo, a media outlet from Bangladesh, reads, "The man riding the bike has been identified as Jiaul Hasan, a bank employee by profession who stays in Nalpasha area under Nalchiti Municipality in Jhalkathi. His mother, 50 year old Rehana Parvin, a primary school teacher of Nalchiti Port Primary school has been suffering with fever since 10-days. On Thursday she tested COVID-19 positive. Oxygen was required and initially Jiaul bought a cylinder to give treatment to his mother at home. But the condition deteriorated after which she was required to be hospitalised immediately. Jiaul failed to manage an ambulance or any other vehicle to take his mother. He then tied the cylinder with a cloth on his back and took his mother as a pillion and reached Sher-E-Bangla Medical College in Barishal to admit Rahana, which is located 18 km away."
Touhid Tutul was on duty at Hiran Point area, where they were crossing . He allowed them to go. He and other commuters took the image which became viral later.
The same was reported on Bangla media outlet Samakal here.
According to WHO's data Bangladesh reported 7,18, 950 confirm cases of COVID-19, as of 10 April 2021. Bangladesh, which is under a strict lockdown to curb the second wave, also extended it by a week till April 28 as fatalities have been rising reported Dhaka Tribune.