Kannur:

A man, believed by his family to be dead and taken to a hospital for further procedures, made a miraculous recovery just minutes before being transferred to the mortuary in this north Kerala district.

Pavithran, a 67-year-old from Pachapoika in nearby Koothuparamba, shocked everyone by coming back to life, even after his family had made arrangements for his funeral the next day.

A freezer was readied at the AKG Memorial Co-operative Hospital mortuary here at the request of relatives to temporarily store the body.

However, just before the “dead body” was taken into the mortuary, a vigilant hospital staff member noticed a faint movement of his fingers and immediately alerted Pavithran’s relatives and doctors.

Jayan, a hospital attendant, said he noticed Pavithran’s fingers moving as the body was about to be shifted into the mortuary.

Pavithran was immediately rushed to the intensive care unit, hospital authorities confirmed.

According to family sources, Pavithran, who had been suffering from various health issues, including cardiac and lung-related ailments, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

Although he was on ventilator support at the hospital, the family reportedly decided to bring him back to his hometown on Monday due to the high cost of treatment.

Relatives said the doctors in Mangaluru had informed them that Pavithran would not survive without ventilator support and would die within 10 minutes if it was removed.

They also claimed he had not opened his eyes after being shifted from the hospital and that his blood pressure had been critically low.

Justifying their assumption that he had passed away, the family explained that the doctors in Mangaluru had told them he was unlikely to survive the over five-hour journey in an ordinary ambulance without a ventilator.

During the journey, Pavithran reportedly remained motionless, showing no signs of life, relatives added.

Pavithran’s wife and sister accompanied him in the ambulance, while other relatives followed in a car.

Upon arriving at night, the family brought his “body” to the AKG Hospital to store it in the mortuary and proceeded to make funeral arrangements for Tuesday.

Jayan, the hospital attendant who noticed the movement, shared his experience with reporters on Wednesday.

“Besides me, our electrician Anoop was also there. He noticed the man’s fingers moving and called me. I saw it too. We immediately alerted the relatives and doctors. When the patient’s blood pressure was checked, it was found to be normal,” he said.

The AKG Memorial Hospital authorities confirmed on Wednesday that Pavithran remains in the ICU and is responding positively to treatment.

“He is opening his eyes and looking at people when his name is called. Although his condition remains critical, he is responding well,” an official stated.

Meanwhile, a section of local newspapers had published Pavithran’s “obituary” on Tuesday, prompting several people to visit his house to pay their condolences for his supposed demise.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Malappuram:

A Kerala court has convicted and sentenced a man to a cumulative 141 years imprisonment for repeatedly raping his minor stepdaughter for several years when her mother was not at home.

Manjeri Fast Track Special Court Judge Ashraf A M sentenced the man to varying durations of imprisonment under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the IPC and the Juvenile Justice Act for a total of 141 years.

However, the man will serve 40 years in prison as that was the highest of jail terms given to the man and the varying sentences are to be served concurrently, according to the court’s order of November 29.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 7.85 lakh on the convict.

It also ordered that the victim be provided compensation.

The convict and the victim are Tamil Nadu natives and the stepfather had been sexually assaulting the girl since 2017, a police officer associated with the case said.

The girl, on a friend’s advice, finally told her mother who in turn informed the police, the officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thiruvananthapuram:

The Kerala police on Friday arrested a man who allegedly spread false propaganda on social media that a lockdown would be declared in the country for three weeks to tamper with electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The State Police Media Cell in a statement said that the arrested man, MV Sharafuddin, hails from Malappuram district of the state.

The man had allegedly shared on social media a screenshot of a news story published during the Covid-19 lockdown as part of his propaganda, police said.

This was discovered during a social media patrol conducted by the Kochi Cyberdome branch of Kerala police, the statement said.

It also said that social media monitoring cells have been formed at cyber police headquarters, all ranges and all police districts under the leadership of the cyber division to detect those who are posting and spreading false news on social media in view of the coming Lok Sabha elections in the state on April 26.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)