West Bengal: Another man allegedly ends life in fear over electoral roll revision

Kolkata: After an incident in Panihati in North 24 Parganas district, another person has allegedly died by suicide in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, reportedly out of panic over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

According to police, a 95-year-old man allegedly took his own life in Illambazar area of Birbhum district on Thursday, fearing that his name would be deleted from the voters’ list during the revision process.

Birbhum Superintendent of Police Amandeep said, “We have come to know that an elderly person from West Midnapore district has committed suicide in Birbhum’s Illambazar. His name is Kshitish Majumdar. He had come to his relative’s house in the Ilambazar police station area. We have learnt that the reason for the suicide appears to be linked to the fear of SIR. However, no written complaint has been filed by the family so far.”

Police sources said the body of the nonagenarian was found hanging from a house in Subhashpalli School Bagan in Illambazar on Thursday morning. The deceased, originally a resident of Kora Para village under Kotwali police station in West Midnapore district, had been living at his daughter’s house in Illambazar for the past five to six months.

Family members claimed that Majumdar had been deeply anxious ever since the ECI announced the SIR of West Bengal’s electoral rolls. His name, they said, was missing from the 2002 voters’ list, and he feared being declared a foreigner and sent back to Bangladesh.

Nirmala Majumdar, a relative of the deceased, told mediapersons, “He used to stay here for long periods. His name was not in the 2002 voters’ list. Many years ago, he came to India from Bangladesh and went through immense hardship. He was scared that at this age, he might be sent back to Bangladesh. He became very depressed.”

This is the second reported incident in the state where a person has allegedly taken their own life over fears related to the SIR process.

Earlier this week, Pradeep Kar, a resident of Panihati in North 24 Parganas district, reportedly committed suicide on Tuesday out of fear surrounding the NRC-SIR exercise, as mentioned in a suicide note recovered by police. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had sharply criticised the BJP-led central government and the ECI over Kar’s death.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a 60-year-old man identified as Khairul Sheikh from Dinhata in Cooch Behar district of north Bengal allegedly attempted suicide on Wednesday by consuming poison, fearing that his name might be deleted from the electoral rolls during the SIR.

According to Sheikh’s family members, he was worried that due to a spelling error in his name in the 2002 voters’ list, his name could be omitted from the revised electoral rolls. The groundwork for the SIR exercise is scheduled to begin from November 4.

IANS