Actor's picture shared as doctor who died of COVID-19
A young woman's picture is being widely circulated across social media platforms, with the claim that she is one Dr. Vidhi, a medical professional from Ahmedabad, who died due to COVID-19. However, the image actually belongs to a 22-year-old actor-model from Kerala, Samskruthy Shenoy. The actor herself has issued a clarification in this regard. Here are more details on this.
Fake message being circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp
The fake message is being circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp. One of the messages read, "Sad news from Gujarat. RIP Corona warrior. Very shocking! We lost a young gem. Dr Vidhi. Gynecologist, from Ahmedabad. Succumbed to COVID-19. Great loss to the family. May god give strength to the bereaved family to bear this colossal loss. RIP (sic)."
Samskruthy issued a clarification on Facebook
However, Samskruthy herself has clarified through a Facebook post that the picture belongs to her. "This is me, Samskruthy Shenoy/Samy, aged 22, from Kochi. Some miscreants are spreading this photograph as that of a Corona warrior Dr. Vidhi from Gujarat, who succumbed to COVID-19. It is kind of viral on Facebook and WhatsApp," she wrote in her post.
"Kindly avoid forwarding messages with my photo"
"I have no idea about Dr. Vidhi. If such a person has really passed away due to Corona, my prayers to the departed soul. But the person in the photograph is me. Hence kindly avoid forwarding messages with my photograph (sic)," the actor requested.
The picture was originally taken in 2015
The picture was originally taken in 2015 during the shooting of a Malayalam movie called Anarkali. In fact, Samskruthy had posted it on Facebook on June 15, 2016, with the caption, "One more old snap from a different angle." Meanwhile, the real Dr. Vidhi was a medical student from Bihar. On September 9, she passed away due to COVID-19 in Ahmedabad.
COVID-19 killed over 83,000 across India
Coming to COVID-19, the fatal virus has claimed the lives of 600 healthcare workers across India until last month, including more than 300 doctors. Furthermore, nearly 87,000 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19, which includes over 2,000 doctors. In total, the novel coronavirus has killed 83,338 and infected more than 51 lakh across the country.
