A shocking case has come to light from Gaya Municipal Corporation in Bihar, where Ward No. 34 councillor Sheela Devi has been erroneously declared “dead” in official records, leading to the sudden suspension of her widow pension. Now, Sheela Devi and her family are forced to run from office to office to prove that she is very much alive.
Three years ago, based on an administrative review, Sheela Devi was declared dead. Despite this, she remained active in municipal work, continued signing documents, and participated in ward activities. The error surfaced only when her widow pension failed to be credited to her account.
Sheela Devi said, “I have been receiving widow pension since my husband’s death. Suddenly, it stopped. When I went to the block office, I was shocked to learn that I was listed as dead in government records. This is a clear case of administrative negligence.”
Her son and ward representative, Om Yadav, added, “When we went for KYC verification, the officials informed us that death had been recorded in the system. We were equally shocked by this grave mistake.”
Sheela Devi has submitted a written application to the District Magistrate (DM), demanding action against the responsible officials and a review of technical flaws in the system. She emphasized that declaring a citizen dead without proper verification or even visiting their home constitutes serious administrative negligence.
Local residents have also raised concerns, questioning how a regularly active ward representative can be declared dead, and what assurance ordinary citizens have regarding their benefits and security under such flawed administrative systems.
