UP man declared 'killed' in mishap returns home

In an incident reflective of carelessness of the authorities in carrying out identification of bodies, a man, who had been declared killed in last month’s train mishap at Bacharawan in Raebareli district, reportedly returned home much to the surprise, though pleasant, of his family members.

Samar Bahadur Yadav alias Raju had not only been declared killed in the mishap, his ‘body’ too had been handed over to his kin after postmortem, who then had ‘cremated’ him and also held his terahavin (a community feast held on the 13th day marking the end of rituals).

The real Samar Bahadur, however, turned out to be alive and returned home a couple of days ago.

“At first we did not believe our eyes when Samar Bahadur came home. Some of us felt that he was a ghost,” said Shivkali Devi, his brother’s wife.

Raju, a resident of Musafikhana in neighbouring Sultanpur district, too was shocked to hear that his last rites had been conducted several days ago and that he was dead in the eyes of the residents of the village.

The Raebareli district administration, which carried out identification of the victims, had reportedly showed a photograph of the body to the family of Raju.
“Raju had been identified by his family members. We handed them over the body,” said a district official.

Raju’s family said the photograph was not very clear. His family members raised questions over the identification of the bodies of the victims, saying the real identity of the body they had cremated must be ascertained.

“The kin of the dead must be thinking that he was alive,” said Raju.

As many as 38 people were killed and over 150 others injured, some seriously, when Varanasi bound Dehradun-Varanasi Janata Express train derailed near Bacharawan railway station, 60 km from here, on March 20.