Nephew declares man dead to encroach upon his land

Kalicharan Vipta, a resident of Budhaar village in Koriya district, can barely walk and hear but he has been visiting revenue offices of his tehsil to get the certificate cancelled. In his letter to the district Collector, Vipta said the certificate was issued without any investigation.

A 79-year-old man in Chhattisgarh has accused his nephew of getting his death certificate issued in October to encroach upon his land. Kalicharan Vipta has since been struggling to get it cancelled and secretary of the local gram panchayat punished for issuing it.

In his letter to the district Collector, Vipta said the certificate was issued without any investigation.

“They told me that on papers, I died in 1958 … I am alive. They have declared me dead. I want justice,” said Vipta as he showed the certificate.

Vipta, a resident of Budhaar village in Koriya district, can barely walk and hear but he has been visiting revenue offices of his tehsil to get the certificate cancelled.

“This is the saddest thing, I witnessed at this age. I appeal the Chhattisgarh government to help me.”

In his letter to the district Collector, Vipta said the certificate was issued without any investigation.

Vipta’s grandson, Lakshman Yadav, said his grandfather had filed an application for division of family land about six months ago in the local tehsil office.

Kalicharan's lawyer, Arvind Kushwaha, said he has submitted an application demanding that the person who issued the certificate should be summoned with all related documents.

“The death certificate was issued by panchayat secretary. The certificate issued is fake, and we hope that the court will take appropriate action against the concerned officials,” said Kushwaha.

Collector SN Rathore said action will be taken after an investigation.