A photograph showing a group of doctors bowing to a deceased person lying on a hospital bed is circulating on social media with a false claim that it shows doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi paying their last respects the late Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury.
BOOM found that the picture shows a group of doctors paying their last respects to Chinese doctor Zhao Ju, who donated his organs. The photo was taken at a hospital in Hefei City, China, in 2016.
Veteran CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury passed away on September 12, 2024, at AIIMS, New Delhi, after a prolonged illness. Yechury's body was later donated to AIIMS, New Delhi for research, as per his wishes. His death has led to other false claims online.
The unrelated image was shared by a verified X user, who claimed it showed AIIMS doctors in Delhi.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on the picture using TinEye and found the full version of it in an article published by the Thailand-based outlet Khaosod in October 2016.
The article attributed the image to CCTV News, stating that the photo shows a Chinese doctor who passed away while volunteering in Tibet.
Taking a cue, we ran another reverse image search on the full version of the photo published in the article and found a report by China Global Television Network (CGTN), a state-controlled media outlet based in Beijing, China.
The article from September 30, 2016, identified the deceased as Zhao Ju, a 41-year-old doctor from Anhui Province in eastern China. Zhao who had been volunteering in Shannan, Tibet Autonomous Region, with a team of doctors before his passing.
The report also mentioned that the doctor started experiencing headaches and dizziness during his service. Zhao was later diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, which ultimately ruptured and led to his death.
According to the report, the doctor’s final wishes were to donate his kidneys, liver, and corneas.
An excerpt from the CGTN article stated: "Fellow doctors were pictured paying their respects to Zhao with deep bows at a hospital in Hefei City, the capital of Anhui Province. And netizens were quick to pay tribute online to a man who showed such selfless devotion to helping others."