Woman dies by suicide over SIR scare in Bengal, six-year-old daughter battles for life

Kolkata: A woman in West Bengal’s Hooghly district died at SSKM Hospital here on Tuesday after consuming poison, reportedly over fears stemming from not receiving an enumeration form during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state, the police said.

The deceased, identified as Asha Soren from the Dhaniakhali area of Hooghly, had also administered poison to her six-year-old daughter days earlier. Her daughter is currently undergoing treatment and is expected to come out of danger, according to doctors treating her in the hospital.

Both the mother and daughter had been admitted to SSKM Hospital for treatment.

Asha Soren’s family members claimed she was gripped by panic after the Booth Level Officer (BLO), who recently visited the household as part of the voter list revision, failed to hand her the necessary enumeration form.

“She was worried because everyone else in the family received the forms, but she did not,” a family member stated, explaining the immediate trigger for the extreme step.

Asha, though married in Haripal within the same district about eight years ago, continued to live in her father’s house. Following marital discord, she returned to her parental home, where she had been residing for the past six years.

According to her family, when the intensive revision of the voter list began, the BLO delivered the forms to her father’s house. While the rest of the family received the forms, Asha did not, which caused her considerable distress. With contact with her in-laws cut off, she had no one to turn to for help. In despair, she attempted suicide and also poisoned her daughter.

After the incident, Dhaniakhali Trinamool Congress MLA Ashima Patra met the family and informed the party’s general secretary and nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee. The TMC stated that as many as 15 people have so far lost their lives due to fear of the SIR.

“About 50 per cent of Dhaniakhali’s population belongs to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Many lack proper documentation and live in constant fear about their future. They do not know where to go or how to secure themselves,” Patra said.

IANS