A man - who at first glance looked pregnant - was actually living with his twin inside him for 36 years without ever knowing.
Sanju Bhagat had a bulging stomach for much of his life, with those around him finding it absolutely hilarious.
He was being referred to as the ‘pregnant man’ as his huge belly made him stand out in his little community.
Bhagat was born in Nagpur, India, in 1963 and didn’t show any signs of having medical abnormalities as a young child.
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Struggling to get by and working on a farm to feed his family, his life got even tougher when his stomach seemed to grow to an alarming point in his 20s.
Obviously, this was particularly weird seeing as his body barely had enough food to stay nourished, let alone for him to be putting on weight.
Just wanting to continue working and providing for his family, Bhagat ignored his increasingly large stomach despite the constant laughter he faced.
He just kept his head down, ignoring his family’s worried pleas to get checked and didn’t want to take time off work.
But eventually, he didn’t have a choice – he was rushed to hospital in Mumbai in 1999 after the big bulge pushed against his diaphragm and stopped him from breathing.
Somewhat understandably, Dr Ajay Mehta took one look at Bhagat’s giant belly and assumed there was a tumour in there – but he was very, very wrong.
The doctor sliced into the stomach which spilled out fluid before revealing an actual human being.
History Defined reports a doctor recalling: “He just put his hand inside and he said there are a lot of bones inside.
“First, one limb came out, then another limb came out. Then some part of genitalia, then some part of hair, some limbs, jaws, limbs, hair.
“We were horrified. We were confused and amazed…To my surprise and horror, I could shake hands with somebody inside. It was a bit shocking for me.”
The absolutely baffled doctors thought at first it was a case of ‘vanishing twin syndrome’, meaning Bhagat’s twin could have died during pregnancy and been reabsorbed.
It’s more accurate to say that he was part of the very rare ‘fetus in fetu’ where one twin is literally born inside the other.
Basically, the inside twin lives like a parasite but usually, the ‘host’ twin would realise something was happening – not ignoring it like Bhagat.
And he reportedly ‘refused to look at’ the ‘lump of hair and flesh' twin that was removed from him and is now back to trying to live a normal life.
Freed from the twin brother living off his stomach contents, he’s reportedly back to working every day. Although, his neighbours in the community still remember him being their ‘pregnant man’.
This wild case fascinated many, with Twitter users in disbelief: “This cannot be real!”
Others write: “So bizarre that it went on for decades.”
And others have found similarities with the pictures of Bhagat: “looks just like me when I’m on my beer-only diet.”
Jess Battison