Simulia: In an astonishing turn of events that villagers are calling a divine intervention, a man believed to have died 25 years ago, unexpectedly returned home Sunday night, leaving his family and the entire Bhagia village under this block in Balasore district in disbelief.
Shukadev Debnath, 65, who had gone missing for more than two decades and was presumed dead, walked back into his home, creating a poignant scene overflowing with intense emotions.
Neighbours thronged the house Monday morning to catch a glimpse of the ‘dead’ man who returned home. According to family members, Shukadev had left home 25 years earlier and was working at a small hotel near Cuttack’s SCB Medical College at the time.
His family later received information from hotel staff that he had fallen ill and died, and that his last rites had been performed.
However, with no proof, his wife, Tapaswini, never removed her vermillion or bangles, holding on to a faint hope that her husband might still be alive.
The unexpected reunion reportedly began five days ago when Manorama, an elderly woman from Ankitira under Simulia block, spotted a man resembling Shukadev at a tea stall on Link Road in Cuttack.
On learning that he belonged to Simulia, she offered to take him back home, but Shukadev declined, saying his son would come for him.
Later, when Manorama narrated the incident at a cattle-feed shop in Markona, a local schoolteacher, Chandra Sekhar Debnath, overheard and informed the family.
Following a visit to a hotel in Madhupatana, where Shukadev had been working, the family learned that the hotel owner was reluctant to let him go.
With assistance from Madhupatana police, Shukadev was finally brought home Sunday afternoon.
The reunion has left villagers awestruck, with many calling it an example of divine grace. For the Debnath family, it marks the end of a long wait filled with uncertainty and grief.