Tshewang Dorji alias Phuntsho Wangdi, 39, has been presumed dead by the local administration of his village in Thimpu, Bhutan, since December 2011. According to the law of the land, a person is presumed dead if gone missing for 12 years or more.   His name was dropped from the voters list and the family’s ration card.

In a strange twist to the tale, Wangdi was repatriated back to his home country thanks to the efforts of Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation which works for the welfare of mental health patients and is run by Magsaysay Award winning psychiatrist Dr Bharat Vatwani. This is the first repatriation of a mental health patient of Bhutanese nationality from India.