HIGHLIGHTS
- Screengrab of a Facebook post carrying link of a Times of India report is being circulated across social media platforms with a claim that Delhi police arrested a doctor for killing 125 covid-19 patients and trading their kidneys.
- Arrest of serial killer Dr. Devendra Sharma has got nothing to do with coronavirus. He has been under arrest for the last 16 years for kidney trafficking.
Screengrab of a Facebook post carrying link of a Times of India news report is being circulated across social media platforms with a claim that Delhi police arrested a doctor for killing 125 covid-19 patients and trading their kidneys.
The Times of India report in the screengrab shows a mask-wearing man with a yellow t-shirt.
As per the caption given to the post, when probed about the whereabouts of the dead bodies of those 125 covid-19 patients, the doctor said he fed them off to crocodiles.
Along with this post, another screengrab of a Hindi news clipping is being circulated carrying the photo of the same man. A loose translation of the headline reads ‘Kidney racket accused doctor Devendra Sharma arrested, more than 100 murdered’.
The text accompanying this news clipping claims that 125 perfectly healthy people were treated by the doctor under the guise of coronavirus He lied to them about their covid-19 status, murdered them and then traded their kidneys. The post advises that family members of dead covid-19 patients should thoroughly check their bodies while being handed over by hospitals.
TRUTH
Arrest of serial killer Dr. Devendra Sharma has got nothing to do with coronavirus. He has been under arrest for the last 16 years for kidney trafficking. He was recently arrested again after he jumped his parole.
VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY
We looked up the Times of India post seen in the screengrab and found that it was published on August 1, 2020.
Titled ‘Delhi: Murderer doctor’s 100 victims became crocodiles feed in UP canal’, the report describes how the doctor by his own admission murdered over 100 people. His journey in notoriety included a kidney transplant racket, the operation of a fake gas agency and the sale of stolen vehicles. To get the gas cylinders for his agency, he waylaid gas delivery trucks and killed the drivers. He wantonly killed cabbies for their vehicles.
He was sent to Jaipur jail in 2004 and spent 16 years behind bars until January 28 this year, when his “good behaviour” earned him a 20-day parole. He jumped his parole and was arrested again recently.
His crimes had no coronavirus angle to them.
VERDICT
Times Fact Check has found that the arrest of serial killer Dr Devendra Sharma is being falsely linked with coronavirus.
With inputs from TOI