Punjab family mistakenly cremates body believed to be missing son

A family in Kapurthala, Punjab, mistakenly cremated a body they believed belonged to their missing son, Ravi Kumar, only to discover weeks later that he was alive and held in a local jail.

Ravi Kumar had gone missing from his home in Kadupur on August 5. After failing to locate him, his family filed a missing person report on August 11. Around that time, police informed the family that a burnt body had been recovered. After viewing photographs, the family identified the remains as Ravi and proceeded with his cremation on August 13.

The error was revealed on September 2, when an employee from the Kapurthala Central Jail contacted the family to inform them that a man named Ravi Kumar was currently lodged in the facility. Investigations suggest Ravi had been arrested by Jalandhar Police approximately one month prior for loitering and subsequently transferred to the jail.

Authorities are expected to investigate how the unidentified body was misidentified and determine the true identity of the deceased person.