A scene straight out of a thriller unfolded in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district when a man, presumed dead for nearly six hours, suddenly stood up just as police and villagers were preparing to lift his body.
The bizarre incident occurred in the Khurai rural police station area. In the afternoon, police received information that the body of a man was lying face down in the mud on the roadside between Dhanora and Bankhiriya villages, with locals claiming the man had not moved for hours, and believing him dead, they informed the authorities.
Police station in-charge Hukum Singh rushed to the spot with his team and even called a hearse van. A crowd of curious villagers had already gathered, watching as the police completed the investigation.
But just when officers and villagers bent down to lift the body, the ‘dead man’ suddenly twitched, moved, and stood up. And in a trembling voice declared, “Sahab, main zinda hoon” (Sir, I am alive).
The strange scene left both villagers and police speechless. Many rubbed their eyes in disbelief, while some even stepped back in fear.
Upon questioning, the man revealed he was heavily drunk. He had stopped on the roadside to relieve himself, lost his balance, and collapsed into the mud. His intoxication was so extreme that he could not get up, remaining motionless for hours. His motorcycle was also found parked nearby.
Villagers, still stunned, said they had never witnessed such an incident. “We thought it was a corpse, but to see him suddenly get up and speak, it felt like a ghost story come alive,” said one onlooker.
Police later sent him home safely, but the strange case has become the talk of the district, with people dubbing it “The Return of the Dead.”