A "missing" man from Uttarakhand presumed dead and "cremated" turned up "alive" and was "rebirthed", "renamed", and "remarried" to his estranged wife — all within four days. This bizarre incident occurred in Pithoragarh's Khatima town due to an identity mix-up, according to The Times of India.
The error occurred when 42-year-old Naveen Chandra Bhatt was mistakenly presumed to be dead after an unidentified corpse turned up at the Rudrapur district hospital with Bhatt's identity papers in his pocket. Here's what happened.
Bhatt, a resident of Sripur Bichwa in Khatima town, in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was mistakenly presumed dead on November 25. The actual deceased, who couldn't be unidentified initially, was referred from Rudrapur district hospital. He was later presumed to have been Naveen because "his photograph and pre-employment medical check-up form from the Covid period were found in the dead man's pocket", reported TOI. Bhatt had been missing for over a year.
Bhatt's family then performed the last rites of the body, believing it was Naveen, at the Banbasa Ghat in Champawat.
However, later a family acquaintance mentioned he saw Naveen just a day prior in Rudrapur. Initially met with disbelief by the family, the acquaintance took it upon himself to travel to Rudrapur. There, he tracked down Naveen, who was employed at a hotel. To dispel doubts, he arranged a video call between Naveen and his relatives, convincing them of his whereabouts.
Naveen's brother Kailash Bhatt said, "We got news of his 'death' from the police on November 25. We travelled to Haldwani for identification.”
“To our shock, my friend claimed to have seen Naveen alive... We're all delighted to see him. My father and I brought him home," Kailash was quoted as saying by TOI.
The 42-year-old man’s family performed all rituals, such as the naming ceremony and 'janeu sanskar' (sacred thread ceremony) on Thursday as per local beliefs. In such cases where a person is believed to be dead and then found alive, it is considered ‘rebirth’.
"After Naveen was found alive, the elders and priests unanimously decided that as per cultural protocols, all the 'sanskars' (rites) from birth to marriage need to be performed again for purification," Ramesh Mahar, former village pradhan, was quoted by TOI.
The family attributed the confusion to the remarkable similarity in both height and facial features between Naveen and the deceased individual. This likeness was further complicated by the extended period — over a year — since they had last seen Naveen in person.
AB Joshi, a priest who conducted the ceremony, explained that because Naveen was considered dead and the last rites rituals had already begun, they decided to perform the sacred ritual again to consider this his rebirth. After the naming ceremony, Naveen is now Narayan Bhatt, but that is only for religious reasons. Naveen, now Narayan, was then remarried to his wife who had left him with their two kids two years ago.