Bengal SIR: Durjan Majhi, who died by suicide hours before SIR hearing; Jamat Ali, who died at home after getting a hearing notice; a young mother at a hearing venue with her 3-month-old child; 90-year-old Muktibala Paramanik being brought to a hearing centre
PURULIA/TAMLUK: Families of two elderly voters who died on Monday, after receiving hearing notices, have lodged police complaints against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal, holding them responsible for the deaths. Deceased Purulia voter Durjan Majhi’s son Kanai alleged his father’s name was there on the physical 2002 Bengal SIR rolls but was missing from the 2002 SIR list uploaded on the EC website, resulting in a hearing notice being sent. The 82-year-old jumped before a moving train just hours before his scheduled SIR hearing. EC had in a notification on Dec 27 said 1.3 lakh such voters, whose names appear on the 2002 physical SIR roll but are not reflected on EC’s online database due to a technical glitch, will not have to appear for a hearing. Son of Jamat Ali Sekh, a 64-year-old Howrah resident who died on Monday shortly after receiving a hearing notice, alleged that the CEC and CEO misused their powers to put his father, a valid voter, under mental duress, causing his death. Reacting to this, an EC official said, “No FIR can be lodged against the CEC. The law is specific on this. A CEO too cannot be blamed for any criminal offence while discharging his duties. Any FIR drawn by police will have legal consequences.” Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 75-year-old Bimal Shee, who was distraught after being sent a hearing notice, was found hanging in his house in East Midnapore.
