Alive man in Uttar Pradesh declared 'dead' on paper

In a bizarre case, a 40-year-old man in Hathras district's Majhola village, for the past few days has not been able to avail banking services and benefits of government-sponsored schemes, as their records showed him as deceased.

Om Prakash on Thursday claimed that pradhan of his village, Rajesh, has paid money to the patwari Devendra Agarwal to have him declared dead on paper about a month ago.

He said he came to know about it when he had approached the banks and the post office to avail the benefits under various government schemes. Over there, he said, he was informed that he was legally dead and hence could not be given those benefits.

Prakash, however, did not explain why the pradhan did what he did.

When questioned about the matter, Sadabad Sub-Divisional Magistrate Jay Prakash said, "They have received a complaint in this regard from Om Prakash and have sent a notice to the patwari, asking him to clarify his position within three days."

Further action will be taken once we receive patwari's reply, Prakash added.