Mirzapur: Man ‘dead’ as per records claims land, DNA test ordered

The man claims that his name is Bhola Singh. He is found sitting outside the collectorate every day with a sign that reads, “Sir, I am alive. Sir, I am a human being, not a ghost.”

The Mirzapur district administration has ordered a DNA test to establish the identity of a 65-year-old man who has alleged that his brother connived with land revenue officials to declare him dead in the department’s records and usurp their family land in the district’s Amoi village.

The man claims that his name is Bhola Singh. He is found sitting outside the collectorate every day with a sign that reads, “Sir, I am alive. Sir, I am a human being, not a ghost.”

An officer investigating the case on Tuesday said the DNA test had to be recommended as the people of Amoi did not recognise him.

“A probe was ordered by the DM [district magistrate] on Sunday, and we investigated the matter on Monday. The man does not live in Amoi village, and lives in another village around 50 km away. When the person was taken to Amoi village, no one in the village recognised him. When he was asked to recognise his own brother, he could not. He could not even identify anyone in the village. He then said that for the last 20 years or so, he has been living in another village,” said Additional District Magistrate (Finance) UP Singh.

The official added, “When he was taken to the village where he stays, no one knew him by the name of Bhola there, but knew by the name of Satya Narayan. Then, another villager came to the fore and it was found that he has another brother by the name of Ram Naresh, who died several years ago and whose wife this man has now married and has children with her. He still claims that he is Bhola, and hence, we had to recommend a DNA test, which will be done in the coming days by a team. His DNA will be matched with the person who he claims is his brother. After that, we will know if he is telling the truth or not.”

Outside the district magistrate’s office, the 65-year-old man said, “My name is Bhola. I am here because after the death of my father the land was registered in two people’s names – both brothers. In the land revenue records, I have been shown as dead. I am here to say that I am alive. Officers are not listening to me. I have been running around for 15 years.”

The case began about five years ago when an FIR was lodged at the Kotwali (City) station on November 5, 2016, on charges such as cheating, fraud, and forgery. The FIR was registered after Bhola Singh alleged “that his brother Raj Narayan and two district officials wrongfully declared him dead to acquire his ancestral property”.

He added in the complaint, “I am a resident of village Amoi in Mirzapur. My brother and I are joint owners of 15 bighas of land. My name, along with my brother’s, was lodged in the land revenue records. On orders of the revenue inspector on December 24, 1999, I was shown as dead and the land was subsequently inherited by my brother.”

Apart from Raj Narayan and the revenue inspector, the lekhpal (village land record-keeper) of Amoi is also named in the FIR.

Station House Officer (SHO) Kotwali Ravindra Pratap Yadav said the “chargesheet was filed on July 22, 2017, and was submitted in the CJM [Chief Judicial Magistrate] court on May 3, 2018″.