By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, May 6 (IANS): Sending a shiver, Maharashtra BJP legislator Nitesh N. Rane on Wednesday posted a stunning video purportedly showing Covid-19 patients sleeping among the dead in a Mumbai hospital.

The chilling videos, which also sparked off a huge chain reaction on social media, apparently show a Covid-19 treatment ward in the Sion Hospital where at least half a dozen dead bodies are lying on beds next to the living patients undergoing treatment there.

The bodies are tied up in black plastic bags, some also have some kind of a cloth or a blanket spread on them even as other Covid-19 patients are lying on adjacent beds, either completely ignoring them or totally oblivious of their ghoulish surroundings.

"The video is from the LTMG Hospital, Sion (Sion Hospital) today (May 6). It was shot by one of my activists who had gone to render some work there... Patients are seen there sleeping next to dead bodies! This is the extreme," Rane told IANS.

When the videos were forwarded to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) - which runs the LTMG Hospital, and officials from the Chief Minister Office for their comments, there was no response till late on Wednesday night.

Surprisingly, despite being an isolated treatment centre, several persons - who don't appear to be health workers - can be seen casually moving around in the ward, including the female relative of one patient lying on a bed.

It is also not clear since how long the Covid-19 victims' bodies have been left on the beds instead of being shifted to the morgue.

Attacking the government, Rane termed it as "very very shameful" and said he plans to raise it in a big way with the concerned authorities, as the presence of dead bodies could threaten the health and safety of those undergoing treatment.

"I plan to write to the government authorities and even raise it with the Maharashtra Governor in th," said Rane, who himself appeared to be shaken by what he viewed.

Ironically, the video came on a day when Maharashtra notched a record of 1,233 Covid-19 cases with 34 deaths.

With this, the state total cases shot up to 16,758 and deaths to 651, while Mumbai has recorded 412 fatalities and 10,714 cases till date.