Dead man returns to stop cremation

Raipur, Mar 7 (UNI) Joy overcame despair when a man who had been mistakenly taken for dead returned home just at the time of his ''cremation''.

Deepak Bhattacharya, a resident of Tikrapara, was confirmed dead when his brother-in-law Kalyan and few neighbours identified a body during an inquiry after it was fished out from Buda Talab, Raipur's largest reservoir, by police.

The family was informed and the body sent for post mortem by the police. Later, the funeral procession started from the Bhattacharya abode.

However, when his colleagues learnt about the time of finding of the corpse, Mr Bhattacharya had at that time left office to pay an electricity bill. They dialled his cellphone number and spoke to him.

Mr Bhattacharya rushed home and then sped off to the crematorium where the body was about to consigned to flames.

The police took possession of the corpse and sent it to a mortuary.

''I admit I made a mistake but the body bore a startling resemblance to Deepak,'' said Mr Kalyan.

UNI