PATNA: A woman, who was declared dead nearly three months ago, was discovered alive, thanks to the door-to-door campaign by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for revision of electoral rolls in election-bound Bihar.
Nisha Kumari was found alive when a BLO visited the house of one Shivranjan Kumar, a resident of Dhanarua in rural Patna, for verification of the voter list last month. The BLO was stunned to find Nisha Kumari, already declared dead in government records, as she was declared dead, and a death certificate was obtained from the state government on May 5.
When the officer verified the voter list, he learnt that the Revenue, Land Reforms and Registration department had issued the death certificate. Nisha’s death certificate was obtained through a Right to Information Act counter. The BLO collected Nisha’s details and provided her with an enumeration form.
But Nisha’s worries did not end there. She submitted an application through RTI to the Block Development Officer (BDO), Dhanarua, seeking the name of the person who had applied for her death certificate. She was shocked to know it was her husband, Shivranjan.
Nisha later lodged a complaint with BDO Seema Kumari, who initiated the process of cancellation of her death certificate. The BDO said that a show cause notice has been issued against the panchayat sachiv, mukhiya and Anganwari Sevika for providing wrong information.
“The application for death certificate is forwarded by Anganwari sevika member, panchayat sachiv and mukhiya concerned. How can it be possible that the application was submitted without their signatures and official seal?,” asked a staff deputed at block office.
Family sources said that Shivranjan declared his wife dead as the couple had a long marital discord and he did not want to give the benefits of family pension to her after his death.