On May 26, the Hindi daily published an image of mass burials and claimed it was taken three years ago. Based on this photograph, the outlet asserted that most pictures of mass graves at Shringverpur ghat in Prayagraj were taken in 2018. It then attempted to normalise the deaths by portraying there has been no increase due to the pandemic and such mass burials have always been taking place.
That same day, Jagran published another report on its print edition headlined, ‘There was no corona three years ago, but pictures of the banks of Ganga from three years ago were the same.’ The outlet said, “Those who are creating a ruckus on social media and posting images of dead bodies on the banks of Ganga in Sangamnagri (Prayagraj) as recent, must look at this image carefully. This picture (image on left) is from March 18, 2018, when Shringverpur ghat was being renovated prior to Kumbh 2019.” The report also said, “There has been an age-old tradition of burying bodies at Shringverpur and Phaphamau ghats in Prayagraj.”
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