Imagine mourning the loss of a loved one, performing their last rites and prayer ceremony, only to discover days later that they are alive.
That is exactly what happened to a family in Punjab's Kapurthala, where grief turned into joy after a phone call from the jail revealed that the son they believed to be dead was actually alive and lodged in prison.
The family received the unexpected call nearly 15 days after they had cremated a body they believed was that of their missing son, Ravi Kumar.
According to preliminary information, Ravi Kumar left home on August 5 and did not return. His father and brother said they searched for him on their own but could not find any trace of him.
When their efforts failed, the family approached Kapurthala City Police Station on August 11 and filed a missing person report.
Meanwhile, police informed the family that a burnt body of a young man had been found. The family was shown photographs of the man. A few days later, family members and other people identified the body as Ravi Kumar's.
Believing their son had died, the family conducted his cremation on August 13.
However, the story took an unexpected turn on September 2, when the family received a phone call from an employee of Central Jail in Kapurthala. They were informed that a man named Ravi Kumar was lodged in the jail.
Notably, Kumar had been arrested by Jalandhar Police about a month earlier in a loitering-related case and was lodged in the Central Jail.
The information left the family shocked and confused. The next day, they visited the jail and were overjoyed to find Ravi Kumar alive.
