‘Dead’ rly staffer returns home after 11 years

LUCKNOW: A railway employee who was declared dead 11 years ago has returned to his hometown Farrukhabad to reunite with his family.
Gajraj Singh, posted as diesel man at Gonda railway station, had lost his mental balance after the sudden death of his three-year-old son Vivek in 1994. On August 30, 1994, Gajraj left Farrukhabad for Gonda but went missing.A decade later, in September 2004, Gajraj was presumed dead by the court and his elder son Satyendra was given job in the railways on compassionate grounds.
Gajraj’s wife Vidyadevi even started getting her husband’s pension. Later, the family moved to Kanpur where Satyendra is presently posted.
“My father was so shaken by Vivek’s death that he lost his mental balance. We looked for him everywhere and lodged an FIR about his disappearance, but he could not be traced,” said Satyendra.
With improvement in his mental condition over the years, Gajraj returned to his native village in Farrukhabad on Wednesday.
Satyendra got a call from a relative informing him that his father has returned home. The family rushed to Nagla Khuru village in Farrukhabad to reunite with Gajraj. “Satyenda and Vidyadevi brought Gajraj to the police station. We have recorded their statements and have informed the railways at Gonda that Gajraj is alive,” Shailendra Kumar Singh, officer in charge of Jahanganj police station, told TOI.
Locals said Gajraj is still not completely fit and is unable to recall where he has was all these years. He told his family is that he reached Farrukhabad railway station by train. He then reached Panchal Ghat and was spotted outside his village by locals who recognized him and informed his family.