A man declared dead by the police in a clash between two groups during immersion of Durga Puja idols in Bihar's Sitamarhi district was found alive on Wednesday.

Police had on Tuesday declared two persons dead in the clash that happened between two groups of the same community in Dheng village in the Suppi area after the immersion of idols.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (Sadar) Ramkrishna told PTI that they were misled by the family of Bhagat Manjhi who was reported to be dead while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Muzaffarpur.

"We have recorded (video) statements of the family members claiming that Manjhi succumbed to his injuries. We decided to go by the statement of his family members and we declared that he was dead. But, our investigation revealed that Manjhi is alive. We have detained him and are investigating the matter," he said.

"There is no doubt that it was an attempt by Manjhi's family to mislead the investigators," he added.

Police said they have apprehended 20 people in connection with the violence.

The clash between the two groups was the result of some trivial issue, and one Talewar Sahni was stabbed, the SDPO said.

"Since the police were present at the spot, the situation was immediately brought under control and Sahni was admitted to the nearest hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on October 13," he said.

"The tension escalated on October 14, and another round of clash broke out between the two groups. Manjhi sustained injury on his head and his family reported that he died during treatment," the officer said.

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