Family cremates 'dead son' only to find him alive in jail one month later

Family cremates 'dead son' only to find him alive in jail one month later Ravi Kumar’s family believed they had identified his body from his clothing despite it being in an advanced state of decomposition. A family who believed they had cremated their son have discovered he was alive and had been in prison the whole time. Ravi Kumar disappeared from his home on August 5, with his worried family reporting him missing to the police. A body was found a few days later and officers showed the heartbroken relatives pictures of the discovery, which was made in a wetland area on August 11. The body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, was difficult to recognise and so Mr Kumar was identified by his family from what he was wearing. On August 13, the devastated family held a memorial service in Kapurthala, a city in Punjab, northern India. His brother Amandeep said: "Though the face was disfigured, we identified him by his clothes." The body was cremated but, on September 2, the Indian family received the shocking news that Mr Kumar was alive. During a call from Kapurthala Central Jail, the family were told Mr Kumar had been in custody since the day he disappeared. Amandeep said: "We were shocked and relieved at the same time." Mr Kumar's family, from Kadupur village, rushed to the prison the following day and confirmed the prisoner was indeed Mr Kumar. He then told his relatives that he had been detained for loitering on August 5 and was transferred to prison that same evening. A senior officer said he had been arrested for bailable offences. The family was contacted by prison staff after nobody came forward to post bail. It now remains unclear whose body Mr Kumar's family cremated as officers are unable to conduct DNA tests on the cremated remains. This is because the extreme heat completely destroys genetic material. Police spokesperson DSP Sheetal Singh said: "We now have an unidentified corpse with no matching missing persons report and no clear leads. DNA testing isn’t viable at this stage, so we are reviewing technical evidence, including cell tower dump data from the Kanjhli wetland, to establish the deceased’s identity." He added that Ravi’s family would be summoned for questioning. The investigation continues.