Gurugram | September 6, 2025 : In a shocking and bizarre turn of events, a 47-year-old man from Gurugram, who was believed to have been murdered and cremated, returned home alive the very next day. The man, identified as Poojan Prasad, works as a small labour contractor and lives with his wife and three sons in Mohammadpur Jharsa, Sector-36.

The confusion began on August 28, when police found a body near an abandoned warehouse, just 1.5 km from Poojan’s home. The body was beheaded and badly mutilated by stray animals, making identification difficult. On September 1, when Poojan had not returned home for several days, his 22-year-old son Sandeep Kumar filed a missing person complaint.

Police informed him about the body. At the mortuary, Sandeep noticed injury marks on the right leg of the deceased, which he thought matched his father’s. The body was also wearing clothes that looked like Poojan’s. Believing it to be him, the family claimed the body and carried out the last rites. His wife fainted when she heard the news, and the neighbours gathered to mourn. On Tuesday, the cremation was done at Ram Bagh cremation ground, and on Wednesday, his sons left for Delhi to immerse the ashes in the Yamuna.

But in a dramatic twist, the family received a phone call during their journey. Their maternal uncle, Rahul Prasad, spotted Poojan alive at a labour chowk in Khandsa. At first, Rahul could not believe his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating. But when he confirmed it was Poojan, he dragged him into an autorickshaw and rushed him home.

When the sons returned, they were stunned to find their father calmly sitting on the bed. They broke down in tears, and their mother could not believe it was real. “I thought I was hallucinating. I fainted. When I realised he was alive, I cried all over again,” she said. Neighbours were equally shocked, as they had seen the cremation just a day earlier.

For the family, the ordeal was nothing less than a roller-coaster of grief, shock, and relief. Poojan later told police that he had been wandering drunk and sleeping at construction sites for several days, which explained his absence. His statement matched with what locals had seen.

This left the police facing an even bigger mystery – if Poojan is alive, then who was the man they cremated? Police have preserved the DNA samples of the body and will now try to trace the victim’s real identity. Officials admitted that they handed over the body because the family had identified it based on clothing and scars.

A murder case has now been registered against unknown persons at Sector-37 police station. Investigators say once the victim’s identity is confirmed, they will be able to solve the murder. For now, the case has left behind many unanswered questions – who was the unidentified man, why was he killed, and how did everyone mistake him for Poojan?