A startling case

He is just five years old. But when Toran Singh or simply Titu talks of his claimed past life, his tone becomes manly: "I'm Suresh Verma. I have a radio shop in Agra.


Titu with parents and Suresh Verma's parents holding his photo
Suresh Verma, Died: August 28, 1983;
Reborn: December 10, 1983?

He is just five years old. But when Toran Singh or simply Titu talks of his claimed past life, his tone becomes manly: "I'm Suresh Verma. I have a radio shop in Agra. My wife's name is Uma and we have two sons."

He even remembers how he died: "I was returning home by car one night after work. I blew the horn for Uma to open our house gate. Two people with guns came running towards me and opened fire. A bullet struck me on the head."

Titu's father, Mahavir Prasad, and mother, Shanthi, look embarrassed, but he continues pointing to them: "These are not my parents. I'm just passing through here. My real parents are in Agra." Shanthi, with tears welling in her eyes, says: "It's been like this since he was three. He first used to throw plates, sulk a lot, tell me I was wearing torn sarees and kept talking about being some Suresh Verma."

When Titu became inconsolable, his brother, Ashok, went to Agra, 13 km from their village, Badh, to check. He was shocked to find that there was a Suresh Radio Shop on Agra's busy Mall Road. A salesman even confirmed that a Suresh Verma did own it and was shot dead five years ago exactly the way Titu had described and that his widow's name was Uma and she had two sons. lima was intrigued by the story of the young boy who claimed to be her husband. The next day, she along with Suresh's parents, Chanda Bahu Bhartiya and Burfi Devi and his three brothers drove to Titu's house in Badh.

When Titu saw them, he immediately recognised Suresh's parents and hugged them. He cast a shy glance towards Uma and then ran to where their car was parked. Seeing it was a Maruti he cried: "Why didn't you bring my Fiat car?" Bhartiya was puzzled: "How did he know what car Suresh had? We had sold it."

They then took him in their car to Agra. Without informing Titu they drove past Suresh's radio shop. He immediately recognised the shop and asked them to stop. He strode in, slapped a stool (a habit Uma says Suresh had) and then pointed to a show-case and asked: "When was that built? It wasn't there before.'' The show-case had in fact been put up after Suresh's death.

More startling evidence came when parapsychological researchers, Dr N.K. Chadha of Delhi University and Dr Entonia Mills of the University of Virginia, USA, began making a detailed investigation of Titu's case. Among the things they corroborated was a curious dent on Titu's right temple. They checked the autopsy report of Suresh Verma and found that the bullet's entry point corresponded with Titu's birthmark.

Titu with Uma
Uma, Suresh's, widow, says: "It serves no purpose. We can't have the same relationship again."

Even more eerie was that the autopsy report showed that the bullet had ricocheted from the skull and passed out below the right ear. When they looked below Titu's ear, sure enough, there was a starburst like birthmark.

While Suresh's parents are convinced that he is their son reborn, Uma, his widow, is more pragmatic: "I know it is Suresh. But I realise no purpose can be served. We can't have the same relationship again."

However, Mahesh, Suresh's younger brother, says: "Everybody knew my brother in Agra and how he died. How do we know this boy hasn't been taught to say all this? I'm not convinced that this is Suresh reborn." The researchers are unwilling to commit themselves and Dr Chadha says: "It would take years of investigation to rule out all other explanations. But there is no doubt Titu is undergoing an intensely paranormal experience."

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