NEW DELHI — A man in Madhya Pradesh, who is believed to be a ghost by his family and villagers, has approached the police after a local committee asked him to produce evidence to prove he is not dead, a news report said yesterday.

The family of Raju Raghuvanshi believe he died after a distant relative told them that he succumbed to a stomach ailment at a hospital in another city. The family, which lives at Katra village, 510km northeast of Bhopal, had performed last rites and organised a community feast to ensure peace for his departed soul, the Times of India reported.

When Raghuvanshi reached Katra on January 1, villagers locked their doors when they saw him and his friends and brothers fled when he approached them.

Raghuvanshi contended that none of his family members visited him at the hospital and instead believed the word of the relative that he had died.

"I don’t know why they are doing this to me. The panchayat (village committee) wants proof that I am alive".