After Babul Supriyo's 'dead body' video went viral, Bengal bans mobile phones at hospitals

According to local media reports, the state's health ministry on Tuesday night sent a message to all COVID hospitals banning the usage of mobile phones in wards by any patient or health worker.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo said in a tweet on Wednesday, "Honble @MamataOfficial banning mobiles in hospitals ‘Kind of’ proves that the Bangur Hospital video was not fake -Thank you. Now here is another detail which I bring forward as People’s representative•I request WB to come up with a clear Yes or No abt this info•Is this true?"

He further said, "Media can’t not show the detail unless it is verified(they can now attribute this to my tweet&show it now)hence my humble plea to Didi is to come clear with info on this Guy•Shooting a video in a Hospital ward may be illegal but he may hv saved others’ lives, hence we shud care."

"Also, we have been hearing horrible details about Bangur Hospital for quite some tim e& inte restingly, we never got Wb Govt call it a fake video after I tweeted it requesting them to investigate&clarify•Instead Mobiles got banned in Hospitals! Isn’t 2+2 making 4 here?" he added in a separate tweet.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Kolkata Police has rubbished the tweet of Babul Supriyo. The tweet from @SuPriyoBabul is completely incorrect and a misinformation. Somnath Das has not been ‘booked’ by Kolkata Police, it tweeted in response to the tweet of the BJP lawmaker and union minister.

In a video tweeted by Supriyo on Tuesday, several isolated suspected Novel Coronavirus patients were found sharing a ward with few deceased at M.R.Bangur Hospital at Tollygunge in south Kolkata pointing a finger at the health infrastructure of West Bengal.

In the video, the authenticity of which has not been verified by IBNS, a person who claims to be a suspected COVID-19 patient says several others like him are sharing a ward with the deceased in the hospital ward.

Supriyo, who represents West Bengal's apparent prime opposition force Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), tweeted the video urging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to conduct an inquiry into the alleged incident.

"This is a shocking video that has emerged frm alleged M.R.Bangur Hospital,Tollygunje, WB•It is shocking in every sense of the term•Since this VDO is in the Public Domain, I wud request Honble WBCM @MamataOfficial to conduct a thorough enquiry into it&release the FACTs asap," he tweeted.

In an indirect attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), Supriyo added, "If this is true, majority believe it is, then fight agnst #Covid_19india wil only get harder with people running away frm the most essential need of the hour - that of more testing•Why wud some1 subject himself to such conditions where instead of cure U get closer to mortality?"

Once again targeting the government, Supriyo on Twitter on Wednesday asked Banerjee whether any case has been filed against the man who had recorded the video besides urging all political parties to raise the issue.