Days after Vishram Munda went missing, his relatives performed the last rites only to see him return home in Jharkhand’s Khunti district after a stay about 70 km away in Ramgarh.
Officials said on Wednesday that the burial conducted by the family was the result of the family mistakenly identifying the body found by police as Munda’s.
Khunti Varun Rajak, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), told PTI on Wednesday that 45-year-old Munda, a native of Patratuli village, had gone missing on May 10 after he left home to attend a wedding.
“His family searched extensively but could not find him. A day later, police found an unidentified body from a drain. On getting information, the relatives reached Khunti Sadar Hospital and identified the body as that of Munda,” the police officer said.
The police said that the length, build and face of the body closely resembled that of Munda, and that the family members as well as villagers considered the body to be that of the missing person.
After completing the legal procedures, the police handed the body over to the family to conduct the final burial ceremonies, and the body was buried according to tribal rituals.
“A few days after the burial, Munda suddenly arrived at his daughter’s rented house in Khunti and surprised his relatives. He told his family members that he had gone to Ramgarh without informing anyone,” the police officer said.
The police officer added that the police have now begun the process of exhuming the body to conduct a DNA test to correctly identify the deceased.
