Facebook posts claiming, a doctor from Haryana who got famous for eating cow dung and promoting the same, has been hospitalised with a stomach infection, are false.
The posts show a collage with a photo of a man with intubation tubes in a hospital bed and another photo of Dr. Manoj Mittal eating cow dung.
Dr Mittal became famous after a video went viral where he is seen eating cow dung and advising people to do the same while making several claims citing its health benefits. The video was received critically on social media with several users calling out the doctor for his claims. Dr Mittal on his clinic's website claims that he did his MBBS degree from Allahabad medical college. BOOM has not verified the same.
The collage of photos are being shared with a caption, which when translated reads, "MBBS doctor from Karnal who used to advise others to eat cow dung, after eating cow dung himself reached got stomach infection and admitted to hospital"
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(In Hindi - करनाल का एमबीबीएस डॉक्टर जो दूसरों को गोबर खाने की सलाह देता था खुद गोबर खा खा कर पेट में इन्फेक्शन कर बैठा पहुंचा मेडिकल)
Viral on Facebook
We found that the same set of photos are being shared on Facebook with the same false claim.
BOOM also received the viral set of photos on our WhatsApp tipline number (7700906111) from readers asking about it.
Also Read: Viral Image Does Not Show Muslims Converting To Hinduism In UP
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral photo of a man lying in a hospital bed is old and unrelated. We found that the photo is of a man named Bidhan Thapa, who is no longer alive.
A reverse image search showed that the original photo appeared on a GoFundMe page in 2017. According to the caption, the man in the photo is Bidhan Thapa, who died on July 10, 2017. A fundraiser was started to repatriate his body from the United States to his home in Nepal.
The image can be seen below.
AFP had fact-checked the same photo when it had gone viral in February 2021 falsely claiming it showed the Ethiopian prime minister critically ill in hospital.
"Completly fake, not me in the viral photo": Dr Manoj Mittal
BOOM then reached out to Dr Manoj Mittal who rubbished the viral claim, denying that it is him in the viral photo and stating that he has not been hospitalised.
"This is completely fake, That is not me in the photo being shared on social media and I am not admitted to hospital," Dr Mittal said.
"I also gave an interview yesterday on this to IBN24 News where they interviewed me at my clinic," he added.
At the 3.27 minute mark, he can be seen saying that he is completely healthy and has not been hospitalised.
