A resident of Dewanagar in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district has been struggling to access essential services after his Aadhaar number was reportedly deactivated because government records incorrectly listed him as deceased.
Sheikh Piyar Ali discovered the issue when he tried to book a domestic LPG cylinder. After the booking failed, he approached the gas agency and was told that the problem was linked to his Aadhaar details.
He subsequently visited the Midnapore Main Post Office to enquire about the issue. According to his family, officials at the Aadhaar centre informed him that his Aadhaar number had been deactivated because his records showed him as deceased.
“My Aadhaar card was suddenly deactivated, and it has caused me all sorts of trouble. I am now running from pillar to post to get it reactivated,” Piyar Ali said.
Daughter Raises Issue on Social Media
The issue was brought to wider public attention by Piyar Ali’s daughter, Afrin Jabee, a national-level swimmer who has also crossed the English Channel.
In a social media post, she questioned how her father could be recorded as deceased despite being alive and in good health.
“My father is alive and in perfect health, yet his Aadhaar card shows him as ‘deceased’, which is why it has been deactivated,” she wrote.
Afrin said the family discovered the problem while attempting to book an LPG cylinder. When they visited the Aadhaar centre at Midnapore Main Post Office, officials reportedly confirmed that her father’s Aadhaar number had been marked with a deceased status.
“A living person, yet officially recorded as dead! Must he now go from door to door to the administration just to prove his own existence?” she wrote.
She also questioned who was responsible for the incorrect entry and which authority could correct it. According to her, the family had not received an effective solution despite visiting the Aadhaar centre.
Afrin urged the administration and concerned authorities to investigate the matter and restore her father’s Aadhaar services without further delay. She said digital identification systems should make public services more accessible rather than force citizens to repeatedly visit government offices to establish their identity.
The family has also sought clarity on the procedure and the authority responsible for correcting an Aadhaar record that incorrectly identifies a living person as deceased.
SDM Says Error May Be Due to Data Mismatch
Md. Marghoob Ilmi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Midnapore Sadar, said the issue could have resulted from a data mismatch.
“This may have occurred due to a data mismatch. I am aware of two similar cases in which individuals were incorrectly marked as ‘deceased’, but their records were subsequently corrected. Such corrections can be made at the Aadhaar correction centre in Kharagpur town,” he said.
