A routine electoral exercise in West Bengal has led to an extraordinary reunion in Uttar Pradesh, with a man missing for nearly three decades returning home after his family had long presumed him dead.
Seventy-nine-year-old Sharif Ahmad, who disappeared in 1997, returned to his ancestral home in Muzaffarnagar on December 29, 2025, to collect documents required for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, news agency PTI reported.
Missing Since 1997, Presumed Dead By Family
According to the report, Ahmad had moved to West Bengal after marrying again following the death of his first wife. Over the years, all contact with his family was lost. His relatives, including his four daughters, eventually came to believe that he had died.
“We tried to trace him over the years, even travelled to West Bengal and followed up the address provided by his second wife, but all attempts failed,” his nephew, Waseem Ahmad, was quoted as saying. With no communication for decades, the family had resigned itself to the belief that Sharif Ahmad was no longer alive.
Electoral Exercise Triggers Emotional Reunion
That assumption was shattered when Ahmad unexpectedly returned home, driven by the need to retrieve official documents for the SIR process in Bengal. His sudden appearance, after 28 years, left family members stunned and overwhelmed.
The homecoming was deeply emotional, as Ahmad was confronted with the many changes that had occurred during his absence. Several close relatives, including his father and brother, had passed away. Despite the grief tied to those losses, the reunion itself brought immense joy to the family.
“Seeing him after so many years was a deeply moving experience for all of us,” Waseem said.
After a brief stay in Muzaffarnagar, Sharif Ahmad returned to West Bengal’s Medinipur district, where he currently lives with his family.
The SIR in West Bengal was launched on November 4, with the draft electoral roll published on December 16. According to official figures, more than 5.8 million names, including those of absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate voters, were removed from the draft list.