After nomad Barkha Dutt milked the death scenes at crematoriums and riverbanks to drive the TRP and revenue of her failing enterprise, her compatriot of similar class and taste, Rajdeep Sardesai also latched onto the opportunity to peddle an akin news story. Sardesai whilst sharing an India Today report wrongfully claimed that crematoriums in Uttarakhand’s Almora district were not accepting the bodies of COVID-19 victims and that villagers were being forced to cremate the dead in open fields.
“Get Real India report comes from Almora where villagers are being forced to cremate the dead in open fields because crematoriums are refusing to accept COVID victims because of fear of the virus. At least ensure dignity in death @TIRATHSRAWAT ji” tweeted Rajdeep Sardesai by tagging the Uttarakhand CM.
Get Real India report comes from Almora where villagers are being forced to cremate the dead in open fields because crematoriums are refusing to accept COVID victims because of fear of virus. At least ensure dignity in death @TIRATHSRAWAT ji https://t.co/Jmk8GArvqj @IndiaToday
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) May 21, 2021
However, the Uttarakhand government didn’t take Rajdeep’s lies sitting down and through the State Health Ministry’s Twitter account, debunked the misinformation peddled by him. The Health Ministry remarked that the farm where the victims were being cremated was a site designated by the administration.
“Bhainswara Farm is the site designated by the administration for cremation where the dead bodies are being cremated as per COVID-19 protocols. This story has not been verified & is sensational in nature, which is unbecoming of a senior journalist like Mr @sardesairajdeep.”
Moreover, the government officials were stationed at the site to supervise the cremation of the dead which was conveniently ignored by the India Today team and Sardesai.
“SDM Almora, AMA-ZP and EO-NP Almora are in charge of the site. They have been putting in their best efforts. There are no designated crematoria in the hills but ghats have been designated for cremation. The man in PPE kit is a government employee carrying out his designated duties,” the state’s health department said in a series of tweets.
SDM Almora, AMA-ZP & EO-NP Almora are in-charge of the site. They have been putting in their best efforts. There are no designated cremotria in the hills but ghats have been designated for cremation. The man in PPE kit is a Govt employee carrying out his designated duties.
— Department Of Health(Uttarakhand) (@MinOfHealthUK) May 21, 2021
A report by ANI has also deflated the claims made by Rajdeep and his India Today team. While the publication claimed that the state administration had not set up the cremation ground and no public officer was helping the villagers in cremating the dead, the news wire agency ANI quoted Uttarakhand DGP, Ashok Kumar, who laid bare the truth.
“Almora district administration has identified an open area in Bhainsora, which is 15 kilometres away from the town area. The SDRF personnel are cremating those who died due to COVID-19, following objection from locals in Almora,” said Kumar.
The ANI report clearly mentions that the decision to cremate the bodies of Covid victims in Almora’s Bhiansora farm was taken by the administration after villagers refused to cremate the bodies of their family members at the traditional crematoriums in the district.
Rajdeep has had a rich illustrious history of twisting news stories to suit his agenda of bashing the BJP regime. While the vulture turned ‘journalist’ has a sweet spot for Congress and other left-liberal establishments, he doesn’t shy away from taking a ‘jab’ at the current Modi administration.
Claiming to report the truth and only truth, Rajdeep was recently benched by his employers for over two weeks after he falsely reported on a violent agitator’s death during the tractor rally.
Reported by TFI, Sardesai was acquitted by a Hyderabad court after he issued an apology in November last year for reporting fake news on Sohrabuddin’s alleged encounter killing. Sardesai issued an unconditional apology to the court for a programme he had run in May 2007, titled ’30 Minutes – Sohrabuddin, The Inside Story’, as Editor in Chief of CNN-IBN.
Read More: Rajdeep Sardesai acquitted by court in Sohrabuddin case after he accepts he was spreading fake news
In the programme, Rajdeep tried to frame the Gujarat government, which was then led by Modi and Shah, and Rajiv Trivedi, who was then part of the Hyderabad Special Investigation Team probing the Sohrabuddin case. PM Modi was then CM of the state and Amit Shah was the home minister.
Learning absolutely nothing from his past mistakes, Rajdeep has trudged down a similar path where his misreporting can cause serious damage in the state’s fight against the virus by creating an environment of fear and psychosis.