October 08, 2026 07:30 pm (IST)
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Ravi Kumar was found alive 20 days after his family cremated a burnt body they had mistaken for him. Photo: X/videograb

Punjab family cremates ‘missing’ son, then finds him alive in jail 20 days later

| @indiablooms | Sep 06, 2026, at 12:55 pm

A family in Punjab’s Kapurthala went through an unimaginable emotional rollercoaster after cremating a body they believed belonged to their missing son—only to discover nearly three weeks later that he was alive and lodged in jail.

The family had been searching for Ravi Kumar after he went missing from home on August 5.

His father and brother said they looked for him in several places but were unable to find any trace of him.

With no leads, the family approached Kapurthala City Police Station on August 11 and filed a missing person report.

Burnt body found, family identifies it as Ravi

Around the same time, police informed the family that a burnt body of a young man had been recovered.

Family members were shown photographs of the body and, a few days later, identified it as Ravi Kumar.

Believing they had finally found their missing son—dead—the family performed his last rites and cremated the body on August 13.

The tragedy appeared to have brought a devastating end to their search.

Jail call turns grief into shock

But on September 2, the family received a phone call that completely overturned what they believed had happened.

An employee of the Central Jail in Kapurthala contacted them and informed them that a man named Ravi Kumar was lodged there.

The revelation left the family stunned. The man they had mourned and cremated weeks earlier was apparently alive.

Ravi found alive behind bars

The following day, family members rushed to the Central Jail to verify the information.

To their astonishment and relief, they found Ravi Kumar alive.

According to preliminary information, Ravi had been arrested by Jalandhar Police around a month earlier in connection with a loitering-related case and was subsequently lodged at the Kapurthala Central Jail.

The family, who had believed they had performed their son’s final rites, were left overjoyed after being reunited with him.

The circumstances surrounding the mistaken identification of the burnt body remain unclear, and further investigation is expected to establish how the mix-up occurred.

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