Uttar Pradesh: How a “dead man” in Muzaffarnagar was brought back by Bengal SIR

Uttar Pradesh: For Sharif’s family in Uttar Pradesh, the SIR exercise—which has caused friction between the government and the opposition parties—turned out to be a godsend. (Image for illustration) (HT_PRINT)

According to a report by news agency PTI, Sharif Ahmad, 79, had been missing since 1997 and had reportedly relocated to West Bengal after getting married for the second time after his first wife passed away.

However, according to the allegation, which cited his nephew Waseem Ahmad, he went back home on December 29, 2025, to pick up his paperwork for the SIR in West Bengal.

Waseem was cited as stating, “We tried to trace him over the years, even traveled to West Bengal and followed up the address provided by his second wife, but all attempts failed.” His four kids and family believed he was dead since they had not heard from him.

But because of the SIR exercise, which required papers from his house, he unexpectedly returned after decades.

He returned to some changes in the family, including the death of his father, brother, and several other close relatives, so it was a pretty emotional homecoming.

Waseem claimed the family was happy after the tearful reunion.

“It was very touching for all of us to see him after all these years,” he remarked.

Following the short visit, Sharif went back to his family’s home in the Medinipur area of West Bengal.

On November 4, the SIR in Bengal was introduced, and on December 16, the draft register was made public. The draft roll was cleared of about 5.8 million names of absent, moved, deceased, and duplicate voters.

Ahead of this year’s elections for the 294-member legislature, the SIR exercise has sparked intense controversy in Bengal and been met with opposition from the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC).