A growing sense of fear and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing hearing process linked to the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters’ list spilled onto the streets once again on Thursday, as incidents of harassment triggered vandalism and protests, and political clashes happened at several places in the state.
A hearing centre was ransacked at Itahar in North Dinajpur on Thursday after the alleged suicide of a migrant worker, who, his family members believed, had been driven to despair by panic over an SIR notice served on his wife.
This is the fourth incident of such vandalism after the recent violent attacks at three block development offices in Chakulia, Farakka and Sandeshkhali.
The latest attack unfolded at the Itahar High School hearing centre, where a group of agitated villagers disrupted proceedings, vandalised the facility, and allegedly manhandled officials, forcing a temporary suspension of the process and triggering panic among employees.
Chandu Sarkar, 51, a migrant worker and resident of Muralipukur village under the jurisdiction of the Itahar police station, was found hanging from a tree on Thursday morning. Family members claimed Chandu took his own life after his wife, Jinnatun Biwi, received a notice to appear for an SIR hearing. She was scheduled to attend the hearing at the Itahar High School centre.
According to the family, Chandu was gripped by fear that his wife could be pushed back to Bangladesh. “My brother was under severe mental stress, and it seems he took the drastic step out of panic,” said Muklesh Sarkar, elder brother of the deceased.
Angry villagers led by Trinamool Congress MLA from Itahar, Mosharraf Hossain, blocked NH12 with the mortal remains of Chandu, disrupting traffic for half an hour. “People are in panic and feeling insecure because of certain activities of the Election Commission,” Hossain said.
Police later cleared the blockade.
Block development officer of Itahar, Dibyendu Sarkar, said: “A group of people vandalised the Itahar High School campus, alleging that a person had to end life because of SIR-related panic. The police managed the situation. We have reported the entire incident to the district administration and the police.”
The police said the situation was under control and said additional forces would be deployed at the venue from Friday.
CPM workers demonstrated outside the subdivisional officer’s office in Siliguri, protesting against the alleged harassment of people during the SIR process. CPM district secretary Saman Pathak said voters were being repeatedly summoned for hearings on flimsy grounds.
“We want the process to be conducted in a fair, transparent, reasonable and humane manner so that people do not face inconvenience,”
Pathak said.
Tension also flared in Hooghly’s Balagarh, where rival rallies by the Trinamool Congress and the BJP escalated into clashes. BJP supporters were demonstrating against what they claimed was the refusal of a section of officials to accept Form 7, when clashes broke out with Trinamool activists. The BJP alleged that Trinamool workers attacked them on the BDO office premises while police remained mute spectators.
As BJP supporters launched a road blockade, police attempted to disperse them, leading to scuffles. The police eventually restored order, though BJP leaders claimed a worker fell ill.
Trinamool countered the allegations, questioning the identity of those who submitted Form 7. “It appeared that the BJP leadership conspired to file complaints to exclude genuine Trinamool supporters from the voters’ list,” a Trinamool leader said.
In Basirhat, anger erupted among relatives of elderly and physically challenged voters summoned for hearings, who accused local booth-level officers (BLOs) of failing to arrange doorstep hearings despite EC guidelines.
Several frail and ailing elderly persons, including Amirul Islam Molla, Abbas Siddiqui Mondal and Safiran Biwi, were seen arriving at the hearing venue near the Basirhat 2 block development office on Thursday afternoon with the support of family members. Abbas Sheikh, a physically challenged person, was seen crawling along the Taki road to reach the venue.
“I urged the BLO to take steps to arrange my hearing at home, but he did not respond,” Abbas said.