Creating shock and astonishment among his family members and neighbours, a resident of Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, declared dead of Covid in a Gujarat hospital during the second wave of the pandemic in 2021 and his 'remains' cremated, has returned home.

The incident was reported from Karodkala village in Dhar when Kamlesh Patidar, 35, knocked on the door of his maternal aunt's house early on Saturday morning.

According to his cousin Mukesh Patidar, Kamlesh Patidar fell ill during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and was admitted to a hospital in Gujarat's Vadodara. Later, doctors declared him dead and handed over his body to family members who then performed his last rites. However, on Saturday, Patidar suddenly returned home, but did not reveal anything about his whereabouts during the last two years.

Kanwan police station in-charge, Ram Singh Rathore, said that as per the family members, Patidar had been suffering from the coronavirus infection and after the Vadodara hospital declared him dead, the family members performed his last rites there and returned to their village.

The incident has left the locals of the Karodkala village in shock and disbelief.

Things would become clear only after recording of Patidar's statement, especially on where he was since his "death", Rathore added.

The hospital which declared him dead is said to be a government hospital.