Odisha: ‘Dead’ Woman Wakes Up Moments Before Cremation In Puri
“We thought she was no more. But as we prepared for the rituals, we saw her chest moving. We rushed her to hospital straightaway”: Family member
BHUBANESWAR: In a dramatic turn of events, an 86-year-old woman who had been declared dead reportedly regained signs of life at Puri’s Swargadwar cremation ground on Monday, moments before her funeral rites were to begin.
The woman, identified as P. Lakshmi of Polsara in Ganjam district, had been undergoing treatment at a local hospital before being declared dead by attending doctors, her family said. Arrangements were made to take her body to Puri for cremation.
However, as relatives prepared for the final rituals at Swargadwar, some noticed movement and realised she was breathing. The cremation was halted immediately.
“We thought she was no more. But as we prepared for the rituals, we saw her chest moving. We rushed her to hospital straightaway,” a family member said.
Lakshmi was admitted to Puri Medical College and Hospital, where doctors confirmed she was alive and placed her under emergency care. Her condition remains under observation.
The incident has sparked widespread astonishment, with locals calling it a “rebirth” and raising concerns over medical procedures used to certify deaths. Authorities have yet to comment on the apparent misdiagnosis.