A septuagenarian residing in a village in Cooch Behar attempted suicide at his home on Wednesday morning after he allegedly grew anxious over a discrepancy in his voter registration details.
Khairul Sekh, who lives in Jitpur Pratham Khando village under Burirhat-II panchayat of Dinhata-II block, is under treatment at the MJN Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.
“There is some confusion over the spelling of my name. Everyone kept saying that my name would be removed. I couldn’t sleep for days out of fear… I could no longer bear it. I am illiterate. I have a wife and a daughter who is mentally challenged.
“After the SIR (special intensive revision) was announced, I was terrified about what would happen if my name was removed from the voter list,” said the 70-year-old man, while lying in a hospital bed.
A source said that in his elector’s photo identity card (EPIC), his name has been mentioned as Khairul Sekh, with January 1, 1955, as the date of birth. However, in the voter list, his name appears in Bengali as Khoyeru Sekh.
“He had been increasingly anxious over the SIR process and the announcement of corrections in the voter list. Rumours and confusing information fuelled his fear that his name might be struck off the list, which led to the situation, even though it is a minor mistake and can be corrected,” said a neighbour.
On Wednesday morning, in a state of panic, Khairul, a farmer, consumed pesticide in an attempted suicide.
His family rushed him to the sub-divisional hospital in Dinhata, and as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the medical college in Cooch Behar.
Amina Bibi, Khairul’s wife, who accompanied him to the hospital, said her husband was under stress for quite some time. “The announcement of the SIR seems to have triggered the panic, and he drank poison. We hope he recovers,” she said.
As the news spread, the Trinamool leadership was quick to react. Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary, also spoke on the issue.
Abhishek, who visited the house of Pradip Kar, a resident of Panihati who committed suicide on Tuesday and left a note that he was panicked with NRC, said: “I got the information that another person in Dinhata has attempted suicide. We pray for his recovery and would urge people not to panic. Those who have been staying in Bengal for decades cannot be simply evicted as Bangladeshis.”
Later in the day, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while virtually inaugurating a government fair in Darjeeling from Calcutta, instructed North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha, who is also the Dinhata MLA, to meet Khairul and his family.
Cooch Behar Trinamool president Abhijit De Bhowmik reached the medical college and spoke to the couple. “We are with them. People should not panic over such minor errors and should approach the administration for necessary correction,” he said.
Pradip Kar’s neighbours said his name figured on the voter list of 2002, a prerequisite for enrolment in the fresh list that would be finalised after the SIR. Many in Bengal, especially those with roots in Bangladesh, are anxious about the documents they would need to furnish or the challenges they might encounter while trying to establish their credentials.