Malda, March 27: A few days ago, Rasheda Bibi had identified a body in a hospital morgue as that of her husband, Mahbul Haq. Last night, Haq walked home.

Haq, a 30-year-old labour contractor and fish trader, was missing from their home in Kanchantar Maharajpur village since March 5, following which his wife filed a report at the Englishbazaar police station, according to Malda police superintendent Shashikant Pujari.

On March 22, police recovered a body from a small lake at Harekrishna Konar Colony under the same police station and Rasheda was asked to see if it was her husband.

The following day, Rasheda identified the decomposed body, on the basis of the clothes, as that of her husband. The body was then sent to Siliguri for post mortem.

The body was to be buried on Monday.

“He was to be buried on Monday. However, Haq returned home last night. The local police station was informed this morning and Mahbul was asked to be taken there,” said Jadupur gram panchayat pradhan Setabuddin.

Mahbul told officers at the Englishbazaar police station that he had gone to Farakka without informing anyone as he was running up huge debts.

“Yesterday, a driver who stays in my village saw me and was shocked. He told me what was going on in the village and I immediately came back at night. My wife was so astonished to see me that she fainted,” he said.