Bizarre ‘Dead Man Walking’: Man Found Alive a Day After Family Performed Last Rites Believing He Was Murdered
Bizarre ‘Dead Man Walking’: Man Found Alive a Day After Family Performed Last Rites Believing He Was Murdered
Family mistakenly cremated another mutilated body; police reopen murder probe after shocking twist
In a bizarre and chilling case from Gurugram, a 47-year-old man believed dead and cremated by his family returned home alive two days later, leaving relatives in shock and police scrambling to identify the real murder victim.
The man, Poojan Prasad, a labour contractor living with his wife and three sons in Mohammadpur Jharsa, Sector-36, had been missing for several days in late August. On September 1, police informed his family about a mutilated body found just 1.5 km from his residence. At the mortuary, Poojan’s son Sandeep Kumar identified the body as his father’s, based on apparent similarities.
The body had been brutally murdered — beheaded and mauled by stray animals. Devastated, the family performed the last rites at Ram Bagh cremation ground, and the sons even set out for Delhi to immerse the ashes in the Yamuna.
But midway through their journey, they received a call that changed everything. Poojan’s brother-in-law had spotted him alive at a labour chowk in Khandsa. Thinking it was a hallucination, he approached, only to confirm it was indeed Poojan. He rushed him back home, where stunned relatives broke down in disbelief.
“I had seen the body being cremated. When I saw him at the door, I fainted,” recalled his wife, Laxminiya. “Even though he troubled me with his drinking, losing him felt like losing my suhaag. Seeing him alive is like getting a second life.”
Poojan admitted he had been wandering for days, drunk and indifferent, sleeping at chowks and construction sites. His account matched what relatives knew of his habits.
The twist has thrown police investigations back to square one. Gurugram Police confirmed that DNA samples from the cremated body had been preserved and will now be tested to establish the real victim’s identity.
“It doesn’t take long to solve a murder once the victim’s identity is known. The delay only complicates matters,” said police spokesperson Sandeep Turan, adding that a murder case against unknown persons has been registered at Sector-37 police station.
