West Bengal is witnessing a string of deaths linked to fear over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with families blaming the pressure of possible exclusion from the voter list.
On Thursday, 52-year-old Tarak Saha was found hanging from a tree near his residence in Murshidabad.
“Saha was found hanging from a tree near his residence. According to family members, he had been worried after he came to know that his name was not listed in the 2002 voter roll. Saha was anxious as he did not possess any old document to establish himself as a genuine voter,” a senior police officer said.
The SIR process, being conducted after 23 years, has already been linked to at least seven deaths and one attempted suicide across multiple districts.
Booth-level officers began door-to-door verification this week, and reports suggest widespread panic among residents.
In Howrah’s Uluberia, 30-year-old day labourer Jahir Mal was found hanging on November 3. His family said he had been “deeply disturbed” about the SIR and feared not appearing on the 2002 list.
Hooghly’s Dankuni reported the death of 60-year-old Hasina Begum, who collapsed after attending an SIR meeting. Family members said she was worried her name was missing from the voter roll.
In East Midnapore’s Egra, hotel owner Sheikh Sirajuddin died of a heart attack while verifying documents for SIR. His family said he collapsed during the process.
On October 31, 32-year-old homemaker Kakoli Sarkar died by self-immolation at her Titagarh home. Originally from Dhaka, she had lived in India since 2010.
Her suicide note stated that no one was responsible for her death, though Trinamool later included her in its list of SIR-related victims.
Bimal Santra, a 51-year-old migrant worker from Purba Bardhaman, died in a Tamil Nadu hospital on October 31 after falling ill amid stress over the voter list.
In Birbhum, 95-year-old Kshitish Majumdar, who migrated from Barisal decades ago, was found hanging at his daughter’s home in Ilambazar.
His granddaughter said, “Dadu constantly worried that he would be sent back to Bangladesh. He wasn’t on the 2002 list.”
Cooch Behar’s Dinhata witnessed the attempted suicide of farmer Khairul Sheikh, who consumed pesticide after panicking over a spelling error in the voter list. From his hospital bed, he told reporters, “I feared my name would be deleted.”
A day after the Chief Election Commissioner announced SIR in Bengal and 12 other states, 57-year-old bedding trader Pradeep Kar was found hanging in his flat at Mahajyoti Nagar, Khardah. His family said he was anxious after the announcement.