Over 1,000 Covid Deaths 'Missing' In Delhi Data, Reveal Civic Records

The total figure of Covid deaths released by the Delhi government in the same period show 1,938 deaths - indicating that 1,158 Covid deaths in Delhi may have gone uncounted.

Aerial photographs of cremations in Delhi - innumerable pyres in a row that even landed on the front pages of foreign publications - have been indicating since last week that the actual number of deaths from Covid might be different from the official figures. After visiting the city's civic body and seven cremation grounds, NDTV found that at least 1,150 deaths did not make it to the official Covid list. Data collected from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for 26 crematoriums it runs, shows that 3,096 cremations of Covid victims were conducted between April 18 and April 24. The total figure of Covid deaths released by the Delhi government in the same period show 1,938 deaths - indicating that 1,158 Covid deaths in Delhi may have gone uncounted. MCD counts as Covid deaths only the bodies that are brought from hospitals. The reason for the mismatch of its data with official figures is not yet known.