'Dead' man rings kin in Andhra as police send his 'burned body' for postmortem

A family from Rangampet Mandal's Veerampalem village in Andhra Pradesh was shocked to receive a call from their relative, who was believed to be burned to death and his 'body' was sent for postmortem.

A family from Rangampet Mandal's Veerampalem village in Andhra Pradesh was shocked to receive a call from their relative who was believed to be burned to death even as as the police sent his 'body' for post mortem.

On January 26, the locals residing in Rangampet discovered the charred body of a man in an agricultural field of Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district. The villagers told the police that the owner of the agricultural land was Ketamalla Pusaiah, a grain trader.

The villagers also found a pair of footwear lying near the charred body which they believed was Pusaiah's. They apprised sub-inspector P Vijay Kumar about it, after which the cops in Rangampet Mandal launched a manhunt for the suspected miscreants who supposedly "killed" Pusaiah.

While the villagers also informed Pusaiah's relatives about the incident, the police sent the charred body found in the field for post mortem. As the autopsy was underway, Pusaiah's kin who were reportedly at the hospital received a call from him.

Shocked, his relatives sought the address of the place where Pusaiah was, and on reaching there along with the cops, found him in an injured state. Pusaiah then explained the entire series of events that left him injured, reported News18.

He told the police that on the night of January 25, he saw three men allegedly burning a body in his field after pouring petrol on it. He recalled that when he tried to stop them, the men thrashed Pusaiah and later ferried him to an unknown location in an auto where they left him.

Pusaiah then reached out to a passerby and borrowed his phone with which he reached out to his family. After making the call, the grain trader lost consciousness, and was back to normal only after his kin and the police reached the location. Pusaiah was later hospitalised and was treated for his injuries.

The Rangampet police has, meanwhile, filed a case and launched an investigation to identify the person who was burned to death. The police have also initiated a probe to nab the suspected miscreants who are allegedly involved in the crime based on Pusaiah's statement.