Pulpally, Wayanad: Adikolli villagers here went literally dumbfounded when a man presumed to be dead came back to his hamlet, almost two weeks after his burial.
The funeral rites of 48-year-old Saji, was performed at the cemetery of St Sebastian's Church at Adikolli on October 16. But his return on October 31 has puzzled the villagers and police alike who are now scratching their heads to find out the real identity of the corpse that was buried at church cemetery the other day.
On October 13 an unidentified body was spotted near Bairakuppa Forest station near Kabani river banks. Presuming the body to be that of a Malayali it was shifted to Mannathavadi taluk Hospital in Wayanad district of Kerala. Due to the absence of a police surgeon, the body was handed over to HD Kote Taluk Hospital authorities in Mysore district of Karnataka on October 16 for autopsy. Saji's mother and brother had identified the one-week-old body based on the presence of a metallic rod in one of the legs. Saji, a construction worker, had undergone rodding surgery after suffering a fracture in an accident at the construction site.
The autopsy report also stated the presence of a metallic rod in one of the legs of the corpse.
In the wake of the recent developments, Karnataka police have made it clear they are not willing to take back the corpse which was once buried. The body which had started to decay was handed over to the Kerala police after completing all the procedural formalities, said Sub-inspector Puttuswami, Beechanahalli police station, Mysore. However, if a missing complaint is reported the body will have to be exhumed for DNA examination and subject to further investigation.
Saji, who had left for work at a construction site in Kannur on September 3, is now bewildered as he lay his hands on his death certificate. Clueless about his future course of action, the construction worker alleged the funeral incident was supposed to be masterminded by his relatives to lay claim to his property. He is not on talking terms with his mother or neighbours.
The bachelor leads a secluded life in a single-room house built on 10 cents of land owned by him. Normally, once Saji sets out for long days of work he does not maintain a phone contact with any of his relatives. All the strange developments unfolded only the other day after Saji called on his relative at Panamaram.
Pulpalli police, on Thursday, have sent Saji and family members to Beechanahalli police station in Karnataka. The family members, on the other hand have explained that they came to the wrong conclusion as the body had to started to rot. “We were forced to do the funeral in the night itself as the corpse was in an advanced stage of putrefaction,” they said.
