Kolkata, Nov 5 (PTI) A middle-aged man allegedly died by suicide in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, with his family claiming he was terrified of being struck off the voter list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Trinamool Congress claimed that this was the eighth such incident in the state over fears of SIR.
The deceased, identified as Safikul Gazi, was originally a resident of Ghushighata in North 24 Parganas, and had been staying at his in-laws’ house in Jaypur area of Bhangar for the past few months.
According to family members, Gazi, who had suffered injuries in an accident a few months ago and was mentally disturbed since then, had grown increasingly anxious after the SIR process began in the state.
“He was terrified about not having valid identity papers. He kept saying he would be thrown out of the country. He had even fallen ill out of fear. This morning, after having tea, he went to tie the goats and later we found him hanging with a ‘gamchha’ (towel) at the goat shed,” his wife told reporters.
The incident triggered political reactions, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the BJP of “creating panic” through SIR.
TMC’s Canning East MLA Shaukat Molla, who visited the bereaved family, said he went there as per instructions of the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
“Till Tuesday, seven people had died due to fear over the SIR process. Now, Bhangar has joined that list. This is happening because of the BJP’s conspiracy to intimidate and disenfranchise poor people,” Molla alleged.
The BJP, however, dismissed the charges as “politically motivated drama”.
“The SIR is a routine Election Commission process conducted across India to update voter lists. The TMC is using these deaths for political gain and to malign the BJP. Law and order is the state government’s responsibility, not ours,” BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said.
The Election Commission is yet to comment on the incident.
The SIR, which aims to update electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, has sparked tension in several districts, with the TMC alleging that it is being used as a tool for “silent voter deletion” and the BJP insisting it ensures “clean and authentic rolls”.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
