Jharkhand family buries wrong body after mistaken identity; missing man returns alive

Days after Vishram Munda went missing, his family conducted the last rites only to see him return home in Jharkhand‘s Khunti district after a sojourn around 70 km away in Ramgarh.

Officials on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) said the burial conducted by the family was the result of them mistakenly identifying a body that police had recovered as that of Munda’s.

Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Khunti Varun Rajak told Press Trust of India (PTI) on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) that 45-year-old Munda, a native of Patratoli village, had gone missing on May 10 after he left 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,” the police officer said.

“The body’s height, build, and face closely resembled Munda’s and the family members, as well as the villagers, took the body as that of the missing person,” police said. After completing the legal formalities, the police handed over the body to the family for the last rites and the body was buried as per 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 begun the process of exhuming the body to conduct a DNA test to identify the deceased correctly,” the police officer added.