Missing Jharkhand man returns home after family performs last rites for wrong body: Here’s what happened next

A few days after a man in Jharkhand was reported missing, his family performed his last rites, only for him to unexpectedly return home in the Khunti district after travelling nearly 70 km away to Ramgarh. Officials stated on Wednesday that the funeral took place after the family mistakenly identified a body recovered by the police as his.

Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Khunti, Varun Rajak, said the 45-year-old resident of Patratoli village, identified as Vishram Munda, had gone missing on May 10 after leaving home to attend a wedding. "His family searched extensively but could not trace him. A day later, police recovered an unidentified body from a drain. On getting the information, the relatives reached Khunti Sadar Hospital and identified the body as that of Munda's," news agency PTI quoted the police officer as saying.

Last rites and tribal rituals

The police said that the body's height, build, and face were almost similar to Munda's and the family members, along with the villagers, took the body, considering it to be that of the missing person. After completing the legal process, the police gave the body to the family for the last rites, and it was buried based on tribal rituals.

"A few days after the burial, Munda suddenly arrived at his daughter's rented house in Khunti, catching his relatives by surprise. He told his family members that he had gone to Ramgarh without informing anyone," the police officer said. Police have now initiated the process of exhuming the body for DNA testing to establish the true identity of the deceased, the officer said.