Clip of Father Carrying His Son's Body on Bike Isn't Linked to Tirupati Stampede

[TRIGGER WARNING: VISUALS OF DEAD BODY]

A video showing a man carrying his son's body from a hospital on a bike is going viral to claim that it is a recent incident from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

The claim also states that the child died in the Tirupati temple stampede after which his father carried the body on a bike because of steep ambulance charges. 

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This incident did happen in Tirupati but it dates back to 2022 and is not related to the recent stampede.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google and came across several articles about this incident.

• These were shared by The Hindu, Times of India, Hindustan Times and Deccan Herald in April 2022.

• According to reports, this incident did happen in Tirupati in 2022 when a man was forced to carry the body of his son and travel pillion on a scooter.

• It also stated that the man resorted to this after the ambulance drivers in a government hospital in Tirupati allegedly demanded ?10,000 to transport the body late at night.

• It further added that the kid was admitted to Tirupati’s Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital and passed away on 25 April 2022, due to kidney and liver failure.

• His father waited for the government ambulance, but it did not arrive. Following which, he approached the private ambulance operators who demanded Rs 10,000 to transport the body to their native place, Chitvel in Rajampet.

The same incident was also shared by OneIndia News.

• The Andhra Pradesh police also issued a clarification regarding the viral claim stating that the two incidents are unrelated.

What happened at Tirupati?: Six were killed and dozens more were injured in a stampede when people queued for tickets to a festival at the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple in Tirupati on 8 January 2025.

Conclusion: An old video from Tirupati showing a father carrying the body of his son on a bike is going viral as a recent incident from the Tirupati temple stampede.

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