Daijiworld Media Network – Dharwad (SP)

Dharwad, Aug 19: Basavaraj, residing near the government school in Weavers Colony, Hubli, had gone missing on July 14. Basavaraj, who has three children, and whose elder daughter has already been married, had left home for paying electricity bill. As he did not return thereafter for several days, the family members had registered a missing complaint at Vidyanagar police station here.

On August 5, a partially decomposed body of a man was found from Unakal tank. The family members of Basavaraj, who went to check, could not identify the body because of the fact that it was decomposed. However, they identified it to be belonging to Basavaraj, relying on the fact that like Basavaraj, the body had six toes. After post mortem, post funeral rites were performed, Basavaraj’s wife stopped wearing vermillion on her forehead and Taali around her neck, which are signs of a married woman, as is customary in villages. The guests, who had come to take part in the rituals, had returned to their villages. The family spent thousands of rupees for completing religious rituals and arranging a community feast relating to the death of Basavaraj, and had as per traditions, sent Basavaraj’s wife to her parental home.

On Thursday morning, Basavaraj arrived in front of his house in an auto rickshaw. He explained that he had gone to Bangalore and bagged a job in an ice cream factory there. Basavaraj did not explain much, even after being poked by his ‘widowed’ wife, who came back running from her parental home, after hearing that her husband was alive.