Indian officials face charges in 'living dead' scam

November 8, 2000
Web posted at: 6:53 AM HKT (2253 GMT)

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) -- The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has ordered action against 86 tax officials for declaring a large number of living people as dead in revenue records.

According to the state's principal revenue secretary, Shambhu Nath, investigation had revealed that some revenue department officials had deliberately committed the error.

Nath said criminal charges have been brought against 21 officials and departmental proceedings were being started against 65 others.

The case became public in mid-1999 when several of those declared to have died formed an Association of the Dead and staged protests to prove that they were alive.

They demanded restoration of their small land holdings which they said had been taken over by scheming relatives with the help of revenue officials after declaring the actual owners dead.

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