The Safdarjung Hospital has filed a police complaint over a purported viral audio clip of a conversation between two unidentified men who claim that the number of bodies of COVID-19 victims being taken away from the facility every day is much higher than the government-reported figures on deaths.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

Additional Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Rajiv Sharma said a complaint was filed with the Cyber Crime Cell in this regard on May 23. In the audio, two unidentified men are engaged in a conversation about the number of bodies of coronavirus victims being taken away from the Centre-run hospital in ambulances every day. One of them, claiming to be associated with the Safdarjung Hospital, alleges that the COVID-19 deaths in the hospital was much higher than the government-reported figures. "This is totally fake and is a rumour with an aim to spread panic. Such kind of audio is demoralising to the healthcare personnel working so hard in treating persons afflicted with the disease. "The information given out seems to be probably with a mala fide intention to malign the reputation of the hospital," he said.

The Safdarjung hospital is the nodal agency under the Central government for admitting and treating COVID-19 patients. "The exact figures are being reported on a daily basis to the Central agencies and nothing is hidden," Dr Sharma said. "We have filed a complaint and have asked them to track the source of the audio. We have also urged them to stop the transmission of this audio further in the social media and catch the culprits," he said. Till May 26, there have been 69 COVID-19 related deaths in the hospital and around 182 patients infected by the novel coronavirus are currently admitted. Already, 238 patients have been discharged after recovery.