Dead Man Walking — "Dead" alcoholic asked to prove his existence

Bhavar had been recruited on compassionate grounds after his father’s death in the HAL. He joined as a messenger in 1987. He married Kavita Daulat Jadhav (also an employee of HAL) in 1993 and a daughter was born in 1994. However, Bhavar’s addiction to drink made him unpopular at home as well as at his workplace. At home, he used to beat his wife and at workplace, remain absent whenever he wanted to.

Fed up with domestic violence, Kavita filed a suit for alimony and on March 28, 2000, Bhavar was directed to pay Rs 850 per month to her. However, without paying a single instalment, he absconded. The HAL put up a notice at the gate stating that he was missing.

On April 28 the body of an unidentified person with mutilated face and severed limbs, was found on the railway track. An anonymous caller reportedly informed the HAL that the body was that of Bhavar. His sister, Taruna Ankush Ahire, who stays at Ghatkopar (Mumbai) and his wife, Kavita, identified the body on the basis of clothes recovered by the police. Later, Kavita was issued a cheque for Rs 50,000 on September 8. His name was also deleted from the rolls of HAL.

Surprisingly, the very next day, on September 9, Bhavar appeared at the factory gate, much to the shock of his colleagues, who thought that he had died in the rail accident. The HAL management withdrew the payment and stopped all further payments. Bhavar now wants his job back but has been told by officials that on the basis of documents submitted by his wife ( death certificate, post-mortem report and police report) they had declared him dead. He has been told to prove that he is alive and get the relevant documents corrected.

Bhavar, who is dead on the records, but is practically alive, is demanding his job back. Bhavar told The Indian Express that on April 28, he was beaten up by his father-in-law and in anger he boarded a train for Amritsar. He claimed that he was in Ajmer at a Dargah. He further said that he was unaware of the developments which took place during his absence. He pointed out that he liked to travel and in the past had been in Goa for a year in 1993 but was taken back in service by the HAL because of pressure from the employees’ union.

He said that his wife had been living with her parents at the HAL township and he had not visited her for a long time. He said that when he went to his house in Devlali which he had rented out to an old lady, she almost fainted at his sight. The lady told him later that he had been declared "dead". He further said that when he reported for work on September 9, he came to know of the developments. He has accused his wife and father-in-law of conspiring to declare him dead to get rid of him.

His wife, Kavita, contacted at her father’s residence, told The Indian Express

, that she was fed up with Bhavar, who always used to be in an inebriated state. She said that he used to lock her up in the house and accuse her of infidelity. She further pointed out that when she was carrying her child, he had absconded for a year. She further said that as a last resort she had claimed alimony from him and he was directed by the court to pay Rs 850 per month from March 2000. Kavita further said that she came to know of Bhavar’s "death" through her father, who came to know about it in the company. She said that when she went to the police station, she was shown the clothes of the deceased. She said that on the basis of the clothes and a bottle of liquor found on the person of the deceased she and Bhavar’s sister identified him.

Later they were shown a photograph of the mutilated body which was unidentifiable as the face had been badly crushed. She said that later when Bhavar returned she saw him at the police station and was "happy" to see him alive. However, she said that she did not intend to return to him and wanted alimony to bring up her daughter. Her father, Daulat Mohan Jadhav, said that he was told by some HAL officials that an anonymous caller had informed the company about his son-in-law’s death. He said that when he visited the morgue, the body had decayed beyond recognition and only on the basis of the clothes it was identified. He alleged that the news of Bhavar’s death was a conspiracy by some vested interests.

The HAL officials have refused to take him back on work stating that for them he was dead. They have told him that he has to prove that he is alive by rectifying the records of the civil surgeon, the police and the municipal corporation. The police say that he had been declared dead on the basis of statements of his wife and sister, who identified his clothes. Meanwhile, Bhavar has been shunned by his family and relatives, making him wish that he were really dead. But, he continues to be an alcoholic, failing to break the bottle, which has "killed" him.