Mangalore: A curious case of a woman notifying that her living husband as having died two years ago and having got the basic records of amenities transferred to her name has been reported from Kodikkal in the city.
Emmanuel Richard Mark and his wife Nancy lived in a 3-cent land after getting a house built in it. Emmanuel had earlier worked as a mechanic in a printing press and currently works as a security personnel in a private firm.
About four days ago, he happened to visit the city corporation office to apply for old-age pension to support himself. To his utter shock and disbelief, he found that for all official purposes, he was ‘dead’. His wife had informed the MCC that her husband had ‘died’ on August 30, 2009 and had obtained a death certificate.
Besides, she subsequently got the property tax records, water and electricity connections also transferred to her name, leaving the husband blissfully unaware of it. But for his chance visit to MCC, the case would not have come to light and he would have remained ‘dead’ in the records for many years to come, until the end.
They had been living together all these years. Only for the last 15 days, Emmanuel has been cooking separately in a room, fending for himself. His wife Nancy, daughter Dolly Diana and her husband John Lobo and a child are said to be living in another side of the house on their own.
Now he has filed a police case and sought justice. The wife, on the other hand, spoke to the media and requested them not to go by his version. She said that the man had been harassing her and family for long. It was impossible to live with him and hence she was forced by circumstances to declare him dead.