A 60-year-old resident of the Dinhata subdivision of Cooch Behar district allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming poison on Monday afternoon.
The family of Bacharuddin Mian alleged that he was under mental stress because of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
Sources said Mian, a voter of booth number 7/165 at Nandina, had received a notice for the hearing, along with four other members of his family, for having a “logical discrepancy” in their names on the electoral roll.
“Ever since the notices were served, he was in depression and was apprehensive that the names of the family members would be deleted from the list. Out of panic, he tried to commit suicide yesterday,” said his brother, Shafiullah.
Sources said Mian had gone to the bank of a local pond and consumed poison. Ruhul Mian, one of his neighbours, was working nearby on his field and noticed it. He snatched the poison from Mian, who was then rushed to the subdivisional hospital in Dinhata. Later, he was referred to Cooch Behar, where he is still under treatment.
Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister and the Trinamool Congress MLA of Dinhata, said: “Such incidents are happening at regular intervals, and the entire responsibility is with the Election Commission and the central government. It is because of them that people are taking such drastic steps, and many have lost their lives,” said Guha.
Obstruction charge
The BJP alleged on Tuesday that Trinamool workers had obstructed BJP supporters while they were heading to a public meeting in Mathabhanga subdivision of the Cooch Behar district.
According to the BJP, Trinamool workers stopped the vehicles carrying BJP activists at Hindustan More in Mathabhanga and Barosholmari near the Cooch Behar tea estate. Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha addressed the public meeting.
“While some vehicles could reach the meeting as police intervened at Hindustan More, those who were stopped at the other location had to return because of the highhandedness of Trinamool workers,” said Biswajit Barman, a BJP leader of Mathabhanga.
Trinamool leaders denied the charge. “It was a spontaneous protest by local people against the BJP because of the harassment during the ongoing SIR process,” said a Trinamool leader.