In a matter of one week, 25-year-old Purushottam became the subject of grief, shock and delight in his Chhattisgarh village.

His family had gone into mourning after burying a body, believing it to be his, only to learn from relatives that he had been seen elsewhere. They traced him and brought him home, leaving the village first bewildered and then thrilled.

The drama unfolded after police circulated information about the recovery of a body from a well in the Manpur area of Surajpur district on November 1.

The family of Purushottam, a resident of neighbouring Chanderpur village, approached the police as he had been missing for two days. Upon seeing the body, they “identified” the dead man as Purushottam, said ASP Santosh Mahto.

Police registered an accidental death case and handed over

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