20 days after burial, missing man’s body exhumed, cremated

Agra: In an unexpected turn of events, a 32-year-old man from Hathras, whose body was found on May 9 after he went missing on May 4, was cremated as per Hindu rituals 20 days after police found that he was mistakenly identified and buried as a Muslim man who had also gone missing around the same time.Subhash Kumar, a resident of Loharra village under Sasni police station jurisdiction, went missing after leaving his sister’s house for work. The family did not file a missing report, said police.On May 9, police found an unidentified decomposed body on Iglas road, and it was identified by the family of a local Muslim man as Hashmi Ahmed, 30, who had gone missing on May 4 from Nagala Garu village. Police handed over the body to the family after a postmortem examination, in which the cause of death remained unclear. The body was buried as per Islamic customs.During investigation, Hashmi’s case took a bizarre turn when cops coincidentally approached Subhash’s brother-in-law’s house on Iglas Road to check CCTV footage. Subhash’s sister promptly identified the body as that of their missing brother.“Acting on affidavits submitted by the family of Subhash and neighbours and other supporting evidence, investigators came to the conclusion that the body buried in Nagala Garu village was that of Subhash’s, not Hashim’s,” said the Sasni SHO Vipin Chaudhary.Meanwhile, Hashmi, who was in Hyderabad, called his family, which immediately informed the police. A team of police personnel was dispatched to Hyderabad on May 11, and it confirmed that Hashim was alive and working.After district administration gave its nod, police exhumed the body of Subhash on May 29 and it was cremated the same day. Though the cremation brought closure to the family, the circumstances surrounding the man’s death remain unclear.ASP Ramanand Kushwaha said, “Subhash’s relatives have not levelled any allegations against anyone. Police are examining all aspects of the case. Further legal action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.”