A 54-year-old man, who was believed to be dead, returned home to his town Kollam in Kerala on Wednesday to the joy of his relatives, who had cremated a wrong body three weeks back, under the impression that it was him.
Raman Pillai of Anjalummood had been missing since January 14 and his relatives had filed a complaint with police in this regard.
A couple of weeks later, they read an advertisement in a newspaper about an unidentified body lying in the mortuary of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College with a picture which bore a close resemblance to Pillai.
The "dead" man's brother Madhsoodanan then contacted the police and took possession the body from the mortuary, brought it home and cremated it in a public graveyard.
It was by accident that a fellow villager Wilson came across the 'real' Pillai at Korrakkara town on Wednesday while going on a motorcycle. After the initial shock, he confirmed that the man standing before him was his friend Pillai and persuaded him to come back home on his bike.
A bachelor, Pillai had the habit of leaving his home for days, but never before had disappeared for so long, Madhusoodanan said.
