Much to the surprise of his parents, a nine-year-old boy returned home seven months after he was consigned to the holy river Varuna after being taken for dead.
Suraj was bitten by a poisonous reptile on October 23 last year in the Rampur Bazar area and his body was consigned in the river in accordance with rituals after his parents concluded he had died, police said.
On May 15, Suraj drew the attention of police at Gopiganj while he was being taken in a train by some people from Bihar.
As the boy started crying bitterly, the persons accompanying Suraj fled. The police took him into custody and flashed his pictures in newspapers, following which his parents approached the police, they said.
Though the boy initially failed to recognise his father, he later recognised his sisters and was handed over to his family, police added.