The Indian government killed him on paper and that’s how a criminal was born. As dramatic as it may sound, it turned out to be the reality in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. As per reports, a death certificate was issued for Baburam Bhil from Mithora village in Balotra district though he was still alive. He reportedly left no stone unturned to get the error corrected, but to no avail.
He was desperate to get the government’s attention, and that’s how the idea of becoming a criminal crept into his mind.
On July 19, he took a knife and a petrol bottle and decided to terrorise a local school.
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Upon being interrogated, Bhil made a shocking revelation.
He said his death certificate had been issued, and so he feared that his property would soon be confiscated by the government.
Bhil wanted to give proof of his being alive and thus committed the crime so that he gets booked and the entry of his arrest in police records proves that he is alive.
The police are still conducting an investigation into his claims.
Notably, such reports are not uncommon in India.
In November last year, a 70-year-old man was seen roaming in Agra with a placard reading ‘I’m alive’ after his death certificate was issued.
That seems a bit excessive - he could have stolen a chicken or pooed in a policeman’s hat (the usual low-level crimes needed to prove you are alive).
These cases are part of a wider phenomenon in India. This isn’t some bureaucratic error.
Enemies often bribe a government contact to declare someone dead which means their property (land, farms, homes, etc) can be sold off and purchased.
This is extremely difficult to reverse and the local government is the one that took the bribe to do it in the first place so good luck finding help.
I believe there have been cases where petty crimes resulted in the “dead” just being released since it’s not worth the hassle to book and do the paperwork.
Should have gone for the gov office which declared him dead instead of a random school.
Given the level of corruption Where this often happens as the result of a bribe to allow the property to be sold off to someone.
Anything that is seen to risk local gov, who may well have taken the bribe. Could just mean the certification was early, not false.
That’d certainly lead to escalation.
It’s like an alternate timeline version of The Crow.
Dude. Dial it way back. Stabbing people is exactly the WRONG way to handle this. May I suggest some vandalism while in full view of a cop? Prison is not the goal here. Damn.
