Gyasuddin Momin in court on Wednesday. (Surajit Roy)

Malda, Jan. 13: A 17-year-old who was declared dead a year ago was produced in a Malda court today by relatives who said he had been working in Mumbai all the while.

Dalli Momin had on December 29 identified a body as that of his son, Gyasuddin Momin’s. He had also accused four neighbours in his village in Kaliachak’s Kadamtala of killing Gyasuddin. One of them, Samiruddin, was arrested while the others fled.

Since Gyasuddin’s re-appearance, Dalli has gone into hiding, police said. A.N. Azad, the chief judicial magistrate of Malda, has ordered the police to investigate and submit a report to him on January 21. The court has also ordered the police to make arrangements for the boy’s stay and to keep a vigil on him.

Gyasuddin was accompanied today by one of his uncles, Keramat Momin, and a large number of people from Kadamtala, 25km from here. Gyasuddin arrived in Malda this morning from Calcutta by Gour Express. He was first taken to the Englisbazar police, who asked the relatives to take Gyasuddin to court to prove that he was alive and that there had been a mistake.

“The boy had gone missing, that is true. But he was not abducted or killed. He ran away from home without informing us. The police are to blame for the confusion,” Keramat said.

Dalli had filed a missing diary with the Kaliachak police when Gyasuddin disappeared on November 7, 2008. On December 29 the same year, the police recovered a highly decomposed body from the boggy bed of the Pagla river and Dalli identified it as that of his missing son’s.

The police said Dalli had filed a complaint against Kamal Momin, Jamal Momin, Moti Sheikh and Samiruddin — all neighbours — alleging that the four had been involved in a land dispute with him and had killed his son as revenge.

Samiruddin was arrested on January 17, 2009 and charged with murder. Lawyer Tirtha Basu said his client was released on a bail bond of Rs 2,500 on July 4. “We have demanded a thorough inquiry into how such a big mistake could be committed,” Basu said.

The police said the boy’s father had disappeared fearing reprisal from those he had accused of killing his son.

Gyasuddin said he had fled home after running up debts while trading in mangoes. “Afraid of the money-lenders, I ran away and worked as a labourer at a construction site in Mumbai. When I heard that my relatives have come to know about me from other construction workers of my village, I decided to return home with them,” he said.

Malda police chief Bhuban Mondol said the body had been identified by no one else but the boy’s father. “We are confused about what happened today. We are investigating the case and if the investigating officers are found wanting, they will be hauled up,” Mondol said.