Local booth committee member Samir Guha said that after 2002, Jagbandhu’s name disappeared from the SIR rolls, with only his father’s name remaining. (AI-generated Image)

In a dramatic turn of events in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, the Election Commission’s intensive revision of electoral rolls has reunited a family that had long accepted the loss of a loved one. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which attracted controversy across the state, inadvertently brought unexpected joy to a household in Bagda when a man believed dead for nearly three decades walked through his house door.

Jagbandhu Mandal, now 55, had vanished on a cold February morning in 1997, leaving behind his wife, Supriya, and their two young children. After exhaustive searches, and even an astrologer’s grim confirmation of his death, the family performed his last rites and moved on with their lives. For 28 years, the Mandals lived with the certainty that he would never return.

That certainty shattered on Monday afternoon. A knock on the door brought Supriya face-to-face with the man she had mourned decades ago. The familiar voice and ageing features left no doubt. His father, Bijay Mandal, also identified him instantly.

Jagbandhu told his family he had returned after losing his job in Chhattisgarh. But the circumstances behind his reappearance were far more complex. Sources in the village said his name had been erased from the Bagda voter rolls years ago. As the SIR process began, he reportedly needed his original voter ID and land-related documents to restore his status. His name, however, continued to appear on the voter list in Bankura, prompting him to come back.

The Bankura records triggered a swirl of speculation. Beside his name in the rolls is that of a woman identified as Sulekha Mandal, whose husband is also listed as Jagbandhu Mandal. The duplication fuelled rumours of a second marriage during his long absence. Jagbandhu, however, denied the allegation, claiming he spent time in Gujarat, Mumbai and Bankura before relocating to Chhattisgarh, but never remarried.

Local booth committee member Samir Guha said that after 2002, Jagbandhu’s name disappeared from the SIR rolls, with only his father’s name remaining. The Booth Level Officer noted that there is no traceable documentation to establish his presence anywhere for 28 years. With his earlier entries deleted, the verification process to reinstate his eligibility will be far from straightforward.

In an ironic twist, the very electoral revision exercise that sparked political controversy across West Bengal has become central to determining the identity, and even the official existence, of a man who returned from the shadows of presumed death.