Declared ‘dead’ on paper, rickshaw puller Badsha fights for over a decade to prove he’s alive
Despite being alive, Badsha Sheikh, 52, a resident of Faridpur, has been declared dead in the election commission’s (EC) database. As a result, his National Identity Card (NID) has been blocked and his name was dropped from the voter list. For a long time, he has been moving from one office to another to prove he is alive.
Badsha Sheikh is a resident of the Uttar Sadipur area under Ward No. 25 of Faridpur Municipality. He is the son of the late Gendu Sheikh. Badsha is married and a father of two sons, supporting his family by driving a rickshaw every day. He alleged that he has been shown as deceased in the government database.
The victim stated that during the 2014 national parliamentary election, he could not find his name on the voter list. Since then, he has been unable to vote in any election. Later, he learned that he was listed as dead in the EC database.
"I am alive, but I have been declared dead on paper. Because of this, my NID has been blocked as well," he said.
Hoping to resolve the issue, Badsha recently visited the Faridpur District Election Office, where he presented his government-issued NID along with his photograph.
According to Badsha, election officials asked him to submit a certificate from the municipality confirming he is alive. He subsequently submitted the certificate, obtained from Faridpur Municipality, to the election commission on 23 June.
Regarding the incident, Hossain Mohammad Hai Joki, Chief Executive Officer of Faridpur Municipality, wrote on Facebook that day, "Those who have every means to verify a person's identity but still make ordinary people suffer because of their own mistakes should be assessed to determine whether they are mentally fit to serve the republic. In my opinion, they are the ones who are truly intellectually disabled."
Former Councilor of Ward No. 25 of Faridpur Municipality, Syed Alaul Hossain, said, "Badsha Sheikh is a resident of my ward. What happened to him is extremely tragic. Whether it was by mistake or for whatever reason, we want the concerned authorities to correct this and restore the rightful rights of a living man."
When contacted, Faridpur District Election Officer Tarek Ahmed told Prothom Alo around 11:30 am on Friday, that Badsha Sheikh's identity information has already been corrected through the Upazila Election Officer.
He claimed that Badsha Sheikh is no longer shown as deceased in the EC database, suggesting that allegations are perhaps still being made without knowing the update.