Jaipur: A woman in Rajasthan cremated a body claiming it to be her brothers. However, she learned soon that her brother was alive and she performed last rites for someone else.

The police officials, meanwhile, are once again trying to identify the dead man and are awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death.

It all started after Rajo Devi, a resident of Goluwala city in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district, saw a hazy photograph published in local dailies. She was convinced that it was her elder brother Kaluram’s body because her calls to his cellphone brought the message that it “switched off.”

The 27-year-old woman claimed the body and the family cremated it also according to the Hindu rituals. Hours after the cremation, a curious family member, seeking to know how Kaluram died, once again dialed the 30-year-old’s cellphone number.

This time the call was answered by none other than Kaluram. The family was shocked as it turned out that Rajo cremated someone else. The police officials said they published the photograph in the newspapers on October 1 seeking identification. “The body had been found hanging from a tree in Dalianwali village under Lalgarh police station area on September 30,” said Mahavir Singh, head constable at Lalgarh police station.

Kaluram, who lived around 7 km from her house, was a vagabond and the siblings did not share very close relations, the police said.

Rajo reached Sri Ganganagar’s Lalgarh police station on October 2 along with a dozen others and claimed the body.

The body was handed over to her after post mortem. She took the body from the morgue at around noon and cremated it by 2pm, police officials said. “Several relatives of the woman who came with her had also identified the body. Also, some public representatives too had come,” added the head constable.

“Devi also alleged that his brother was going out with a nomad woman and it was possible that she had got him killed,” the police official said.

When the relative called Kaluram’s number he answered on the other end.

Kaluram was told to reach his sister’s place at the earliest. He reached her place by about 5 pm, much to the bewilderment of the family members who had “cremated him” hours ago. He had gone to visit somebody and meanwhile, his phone’s battery had died.

The police say that the woman admitted her mistake in identifying the body.

(Source: The Hindustan Times)