‘Dead man’ in India to remarry wife as he turns 28 again

Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh): Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’, the man who made headlines when he fought a long battle to prove he was ‘alive’, after being declared ‘dead’ in government records, is in the news again.

‘Mritak’ is now planning to remarry his 56-year-old wife Karmi Devi because it is now 27 years since he got a new life in government records. He was declared alive on June 30, 1994.

“I was reborn in government records 27 years ago. The marriage ceremony will be held in 2022, when I will turn 28 after my rebirth in government records,” Lal Bihari told reporters.

Mritak has three children - two daughters and one son - all of whom are now married.

Lal Bihari, now 66-years-old, said that he wanted to remarry his wife and draw the attention of the people towards the plight of the ‘living dead’.

“Though I fought and won my case, not much has actually changed in the system. I remained ‘dead’ in government records for 18 years. There are still people who have been declared dead and their land has been usurped by relatives in connivance with government officials. I have been helping such victims in the past decades but the campaign must continue,” he said.

Lal Bihari is a resident of Amilo village in Azamgarh district and was officially declared dead in 1975.

During his legal battle to regain his identity, he added ‘Mritak’ (deceased) in his name.

He even formed a Mritak Sangh to highlight the cases similar to his.

Filmmaker Satish Kaushik has made a film ‘Kaagaz’ on his life and actor Pankaj Tripathi essayed the role of Mritak.