Elderly man protests being wrongly declared dead in Agra, Seeks pension
A 70-year-old man was spotted carrying a wooden placard around his neck with a declaration, “Main Zinda Hun (I am alive),” in Agra.
Agra: A 70-year-old man, identified as Dinanath Yadav from Agra was spotted carrying a wooden placard around his neck with a declaration, “Main Zinda Hun (I am alive).” The reason behind this unusual protest was Yadav’s claim that he had been falsely declared dead by government employees in March.
According to Yadav, the mistaken death declaration led to the halt of his old-age pension in March, leaving him in a perplexing situation. Despite his attempts to resolve the matter with the village Secretary, he received no satisfactory response. To prove his existence, Yadav took matters into his own hands and appeared before the Agra District Magistrate office with the attention-grabbing placard.
The District Magistrate, surprised by Yadav’s claims, reviews the documents presented by him and directed the Chief Development Officer’s (CDO) staff to investigate how such a mistake occurred. Yadav, during an interview with India Today, affirmed his good health, daily routine on the farm, and his two-year history of receiving a pension.
Yadav alleged that a CDO office staff member wrongly marked him as deceased in government records, not only causing a disruption in his pension but also potentially leading to legal complications in the future.
In an attempt to bring attention to his predicament, Yadav tried to contact the District Magistrate multiple times over the past eight months. Frustrated with the lack of resolution, he resorted to the eye-catching placard strategy.
Upon Yadav’s appearance at the District Magistrate’s office, immediate action was taken. The Magistrate called the village Panchayat Secretary in Etmadpur, instructing a thorough report to be filed to address Yadav’s issue.
While the Block Development Officer (BDO) Anirudh Singh acknowledged the case, he mentioned being on leave and was unable to provide further comments. Social activist Vijay Upadhyay highlighted that Yadav’s case is not isolated, emphasizing that several individuals in Uttar Pradesh are grappling with being mistakenly declared deceased on official records.
Ms Kalinga