In Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, a man, believed to be dead for nearly six hours, suddenly got up just as police and villagers were preparing to lift his body.

The incident took place in the Khurai rural police station area on Monday, NDTV reported. Police had been informed that a man’s body was lying face down in the mud by the roadside between Dhanora and Bankhiriya villages. Locals told officers that the man had not moved for hours and assumed he was dead.

The police station in charge Hukum Singh reached the spot with his team and even summoned a hearse van. By then, a crowd of villagers had gathered, watching as police carried out formalities.

But just as officers and villagers bent down to lift the body, the “dead man” twitched, moved, and to everyone’s shock, stood up. In a shaky voice, he said: “Sahab, main zinda hoon” (Sir, I am alive).

This left both the police and villagers speechless. Some rubbed their eyes in disbelief, while others stepped back in fear.

When questioned, the man explained that he had been heavily drunk. He had stopped by the road to relieve himself, but lost balance and collapsed in the mud. Because of extreme intoxication, he could not get up and remained motionless for hours.

Police also found his motorcycle parked nearby.

The incident has become the talk of the district, with villagers saying they had never seen anything like it.

“We thought it was a corpse, but to see him suddenly get up and speak, it felt like a ghost story come alive,” said one eyewitness.

Police later confirmed that the man was safe and was sent home. The strange incident, now being referred to locally as “The Return of the Dead,” has left the entire district buzzing with disbelief.