'Dead' man finally proved alive after 15 years in Uttar Pradesh

Bhola Singh, a 65-year-old farmer, finally was proven 'alive', 15 years after his brother had got him declared dead on paper in connivance with revenue officials in order to usurp the family land.

Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh): After a long struggle of 15 years, a 65-year-old man who had been proved 'dead' on paper, was finally declared alive by the administration in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district on Monday.

Bhola Singh, who had been struggling to prove himself as a living person for the last 15 years, was finally given a certificate after his name was added in the government records.

According to Singh, he had been declared 'dead' by his brother Raj Narayan in connivance with revenue officials. Bhola's brother got him declared dead in 2005 in order to usurp the family land in Amoi village.

Bhola then started a legal battle to prove himself as a living person.

He had been running pillar to post at government offices, and finally decided to sit down in front of the DM office on January 21 with a banner which read "Sir, I am alive."

After Bhola's case was reported by the media, the Chief Minister's office took cognisance and directed the district administration to take action. DM Praveen Kumar Laxkar ordered a DNA test of the two brothers.

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While Bhola gave his blood to the district hospital for the DNA test, his brother Raj Narayan refused to do so. This prompted the district administration to investigate the matter in depth.

"The case was going on in the Tehsil Court. In the meantime, we quickly found, on the basis of documents and witnesses, that Bhola was right," Tehsildar Sunil Kumar said.

Bhola's lawyer Vinod said that the 65-year-old's name was present in the government records till 1999, but disappeared later as his brother got the land transferred to his name.

But now Bhola has finally got justice and he is extremely happy, the lawyer said.

Earlier in 2016, a case was filed against Bhola's brother and two other officials, making them the accused in the case, which is currently in court.

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