For the family members of 35-year-old Kamlesh Patidar, it was an utter shock when he knocked the door of his relative's house last Saturday. Why they got astonished on his arrival? Because, for them, Patidar was no more and all they had was his memory and melancholy aftermath his death. Yes, Patidar was declared 'dead' due to COVID-19 two years ago and his family members had completed his last rites. 

The body was cremated in PPE as it was done for every COVID victim. It was almost two years since they performed his last rites and when he returned alive on Saturday, not only his family members but the entire community was stunned. Patidar was a native of Madhya Pradesh and he had fallen ill during the second COVID-19 wave. He was admitted to a hospital in Gujarat after contracting the COVID pandemic and later, the doctors declared him dead.

The body was handed over to Patidar's family members and they had performed last rites. Last Saturday, to everyone's surprise, Patidar had knocked the door of his maternal aunt's house in Karodkala village in the Dhar district at 6 am. Patidar's cousin said that he has returned home but he has not revealed anything about where he stayed during this period.  

The matter went to the notice of Kanwan police station and the station's in-charge Ram Singh Rathore quoted the family members of Patidar saying that Patidar had suffered from the COVID infection in 2021 and he was admitted to a hospital in Vadodara, Gujarat. 

Rathore further said that the doctors declared him dead due to COVID-19 infection, following which the family members performed last rites of the body given by the hospital in Vadodara and then returned to their village. The police official added that the family members came to know that Patidar was alive when he returned home on Saturday and that the matter will get cleared after recording Patidar's statement. 

On the other hand, Kamlesh Patidar's uncle Rameshwar has filed a complaint with police alleging that Patidar was held hostage by a gang for the past two years. According to Rameshwar, Patidar told him that he was held hostage by a gang during these two years. "He has told me that after recovering from COVID, he was held confined by half a dozen persons in Ahmedabad. They injected him with drugs and kept him unconsicous all the time", Rameshwar added. 

He further cited that when the gang was taking Patidar in a car last Friday, they stopped at a roadside hotel during which Patidar escaped from the car and boarded an Ahmedabad-Indore passenger bus. He then had arrived in Sardarpur on Friday night and on Saturday morning, he reached the village and he is still in a semi-conscious state.