'I was depressed': 'Dead' soldier returns after 16 years, says 'fake dowry case' forced him to flee

A "dead" soldier from Himachal Pradesh made a shocking comeback recently leaving both his family and regiment bewildered.

"I never died," Surinder Singh announced as he walked into a Pathankot courtroom, revealing that his disappearance was driven by a dowry case filed against him 16 years back, as per a report in The Times of India.

Before Singh surrendered in the court, his wife had been receiving a pension as a widow.

"I was depressed. My wife had slapped a case of dowry harassment against me and my parents. She used to insult me at my place of posting and treated me so badly that I decided to renounce the world," Singh told the publication.

He revealed that in the time he was gone, he lived at railway stations, and slums in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and every time he thought of coming back home and rejoining his unit in the Army, the thought of the harassment he faced in the hands of his wife stopped him.

However, to investigate whether the reason behind his disappearance is legitimate or not, the Army's 32-Medium Regiment and its intelligence wing have launched a probe into the matter.

As per the report, he was last posted in Gujarat before his disappearance. Singh, who served in the Army for 11.5 years, believes that the case ruined his career, along with his personal life. He feels that his tenth-grader son, who was just a year old when he disappeared, might not even recognise him now.

Back on May 14, 2010, his wife Meena Kumari had filed a case against him for dowry and related charges. Soon after, on April 9, 2010 he was declared a proclaimed offender and summons, proclamations, and warrents were issued against him. However, he was not found at any of his addresses, neither had he been reporting for duty. Following this, the Army in its proceedings assumed that he had died, and it granted pension to his estranged wife.

Singh, who recently contacted his brother through Facebook after an exile of over 15 years, told the court that in 2009 he had met with an accident when he lost his memory, which he only recently re-gained. He said that last month he sent letters to the Army as well, stating that he is alive. In 2020 as well, he alleged to have contacted his unit for surrender at the place of duty, but could not do so.

Singh is currently residing with his brother in Kangra. The court will hear the matter again on April 23, and has asked his wife to be present as well.