Presumed dead: man returns to UP home after 29 years for Bengal SIR

Muzaffarnagar (UP): After nearly three decades of silence, a septuagenarian man long presumed dead by his family returned to his hometown Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar district, to collect documents for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, where he has been settled for the past many years.

Sharif Ahmad (79), who had been ‘missing' since 1997 when he moved to West Bengal following his second marriage after the death of his first wife, arrived in his hometown on December 29 to collect documents for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, his nephew Waseem Ahmad told PTI.

“We tried to trace him over the years, even travelled to West Bengal and followed up the address provided by his second wife, but all attempts failed,” Waseem said.

“With no contact for decades, his four daughters and the family assumed that he was no longer alive,” he added.

Sharif said he returned to his hometown to collect documents related to the SIR exercise in Bengal, which compelled him to re-establish contact with his native place.

During his visit, he found that many of his close family members, including his father and brother, had passed away.

The emotional reunion brought joy to the family, Waseem said.

“Seeing him after so many years was a deeply moving experience for all of us,” he said.

After the brief visit, Sharif returned to West Bengal's Medinipur district, where he lives with his family, to complete the SIR formalities.

PTI