On the day the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists rolled out across West Bengal, a 28‑year‑old man in Howrah district sadly ended his life, saying he was terrified of the exercise.
Police say the deceased was Zaheer Mal, a daily‑wage labourer from the Khalisani Gram Panchayat in Uluberia. Officers from the Uluberia police station found his body after it had been hanging from a rope in his own home. Though no written note was recovered, his wife, Regina Bibi, told reporters that he had been “scared of SIR, saying he would be sent to Bangladesh.” Her words echo earlier claims that fear of the SIR could push some residents to extreme actions.
The tragedy came as more than 80,000 booth‑level officers began house‑to‑house visits, distributing enumeration forms on Tuesday. SIR is meant to update and correct voter rolls, but critics argue that the campaign has created an atmosphere of panic.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) representatives visited Zaheer’s family following the incident, following instructions from TMC’s all‑India general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee. State Public Works and Public Health Minister Pulak Roy told the press that TMC stood with the family and that the campaign had “created a climate of fear.” He said the party would push the central government to stop politicising the SIR.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused TMC of using the SIR to threaten voters. Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said, “People are superfluous afraid. The Mamata‑Banerjee alliance is pushing its political agenda by threatening citizens over the SIR.”
TMC has highlighted a series of alleged suicides in West Bengal linked to SIR fears. On Oct. 28, Pradeep Kar of Panihati in North 24 Parganas reportedly took his life after receiving a suicide note that blamed the SIR. Khairul Sheikh from Dinhata in Cooch Behar tried to kill himself with poison over similar concerns. A 95‑year‑old man, Kshitish Majumdar of West Midnapore, also died after learning his name was missing from the 2002 voter list. On Nov. 2, Sheikh Sirajuddin, a hotel owner in Digha, died of heart disease after seeing a mistake on his father’s name in a document. That same day, the family of Bimal Santra, a migrant worker from East Burdwan, said he died in Tamil Nadu after hearing about the SIR. On Monday, Hasina Beg, 60, in Hooghly district, died and her name had also not appeared in the 2002 voter list.
These incidents have intensified the debate over the SIR’s impact on voters’ mental health and the political pressure that the electoral exercise may be causing. The West Bengal government continues to push forward with the revision, while opposition parties warn that the process could endanger citizens’ well‑being.
Source: ianslive
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