A 36-year-old man, believed to be dead and whose 'body' was being flown home from Lucknow, returned on Thursday morning, just as his family busy arranging for his last rites.

According to police, Mohammad Ashraf, a father of five children, had recently gone to Jeddah in search of a job and was deported by Saudi authorities to Lucknow on August 13, after he was found to be overstaying there.

When Ashraf reached Lucknow by an Air India flight, he soon found that his passport was missing and decided to reach Malappuram by train, the sources said.

Meanwhile, mistaking the body of an unidentified person at the airport to be that of Ashraf after his passport was traced in the premises, Lucknow passport authorities rang up Ashraf's house to inform them of his 'demise'. They also arranged for the body to be flown to Malappuram.

However, before the flight could arrive at Karipur airport at the scheduled time of 6.15 am, Ashraf reached home by 5.30 am, taking everyone by shock and surprise.

Ashraf's father had even made arrangements through a notary to receive his son's body on its arrival at the airport while his family members were busy arranging Ashraf's burial.

After Lucknow passport officials were informed that Ashaf had returned home, arrangements were made to take the unidentified person's body back, to Lucknow, the sources added.