Man Returns Home After Family Performs His Last Rites in Jharkhand

In a bizarre case of mistaken identity , a man declared dead by his family returned home days after his funeral was conducted in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, leaving relatives and villagers stunned and forcing police to order a DNA test on the buried body.

According to police, 45-year-old Vishram Munda , a resident of Patratoli village, went missing on May 10 after leaving home to attend a wedding. His family searched for him for hours but could not locate him.

A day later, police recovered an unidentified body from a drain and informed local residents. Munda’s relatives later reached Khunti Sadar Hospital and identified the body as his based on its physical resemblance.

“The height, facial features and build closely matched Vishram Munda, and the family was convinced it was him,” Khunti SDPO Varun Rajak said.

After completing legal formalities, police handed over the body to the family, which performed the last rites and buried it according to tribal customs.

However, the story took an unexpected turn when Munda suddenly appeared at his daughter’s rented house in Khunti several days later. Shocked relatives initially struggled to believe he was alive.

Police said Munda later informed his family that he had travelled to Ramgarh, around 70 kilometres away, without informing anyone.

The incident has now raised serious questions about identification procedures in cases involving unidentified bodies. Police have initiated the process of exhuming the buried body and conducting a DNA test to establish the identity of the deceased person.

The unusual episode has sparked widespread curiosity in the region, with locals describing it as stranger than fiction.