A resident of Para in Purulia district lodged a police complaint against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday after his 82-year-old father had reportedly committed suicide following the omission of his name from the draft voter list.
Kumar and Agarwal were accused of abetment of Durjan Majhi's suicide on Monday, caused by "illegal acts, harassment and non-cooperation".
Kanai Majhi said his father Durjan had left home at Choutala village around 8am on Monday in an e-rickshaw to attend the hearing at the block development office.
However, a little later, the family was informed by villagers that Durjan's body was lying on the railway tracks at Anara near home.
"My father ended his life because of severe mental stress, fear and humiliation following the omission of his name by the Election Commission and harassment by the EC," said Kanai, 26.
He has complained at the Para police station against the CEC and the CEO. Sources in the police said they would forward the complaint to the Government Railway Police (GRP) as the body was found on the tracks.
S. Selvamurugan, deputy inspector general of the GRP, said they were yet to receive any such complaint. "We will start the investigation once we receive a complaint," he said.
Durjan's body was sent for post-mortem to Raghunathpur hospital.
The deceased's wife Sitamani Majhi said her ailing husband was suffering from tremendous mental stress and felt humiliated after his name was dropped from the draft voter list.
Sitamani said: “My husband’s name was on the 2002 voter list, and he had filled out the enumeration form properly with all necessary details. But his name was not found on the draft voter list. He was shocked and shattered. The officials summoned him for a hearing on Monday.”
Those whose names could not be mapped with the 2002 electoral rolls are called for hearings to establish their credentials as voters.
On Tuesday, Purulia zila parishad sabhadhipati Nibedita Mahato visited the family of Durjan to console them. “We have no words to console the family. The EC is responsible for whatever pain and stress they are going through,” she said.
Purulia district Trinamool Congress president Rajib Lochan threatened to intensify protests against the EC.
On Tuesday, Trinamool workers burnt the effigy of the CEC and blocked the roads in Para to protest against Durjan’s death.
“The CEC and CEO have murdered Durjan Majhi and left his family in distress. We will intensify our protest,” said Lochan.
BJP MLA of Para Nadiar Chand Bauri said Trinamool was trying to mislead and scare people. “Durjan’s name might have been dropped from the draft voter list for some reason. It could have been rectified easily at the hearing, but Trinamool is trying to scare them,” he said.