Kochi: In a bizarre and distressing mix-up, the family of a 59-year-old man from Perumbadavam near Elanji in Koothattukulam was forced to postpone his funeral after discovering that the body in the coffin was not his.

The deceased, George K Iype, a native of Perumbadavam who had been settled in Mumbai for years, passed away on Monday after battling cancer. As per his final wish, his wife Shiny and son Abin arranged to bring his body home for burial alongside his ancestors. An agency specialising in the transport of mortal remains handled the arrangements, and the embalmed body was flown to Kochi on Monday morning.

The family reached their native village by evening and kept the sealed coffin in the mortuary of a Piravom hospital overnight. However, when it was brought home for the funeral on Tuesday morning, the family was stunned — the body inside wasn’t George’s.

“It was someone else entirely. When we checked with the agency, we learned it was another man named George from Pathanamthitta,” said Sheril Joy, Elanji panchayat ward member. “Both coffins had stickers with the same name. That’s how the swap happened,” she said. 

Local leaders and police immediately intervened, ensuring that the body of the Pathanamthitta native was safely moved to a hospital mortuary while efforts were made to retrieve George K Iype’s remains. The agency admitted to the mistake and arranged to send George's body from Mumbai by an evening flight to Kochi.

By night, George’s body finally reached his home, where prayers were held by the church's priest again. The burial will now take place at 11.30 am on Wednesday at the Perumbadavam Orthodox Church.

“The family has been through great emotional distress. The agency must take full responsibility and coordinate with the police to return the other body safely,” said Joy.