5 suicides, 1 heart attack: 6 die across West Bengal in 24 hours, kin blame anxiety over SIR

KOLKATA: Six deaths were reported from five districts of Bengal in the past 24 hours — North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Birbhum, Purulia and West Burdwan—allegedly linked to panic over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Of the six, five allegedly died by suicide, while one died of a heart attack. Families in all cases blamed anxiety related to SIR notices and hearings for the deaths.

In Hingalganj, North 24 Parganas, 62-year-old Shoaib Sheikh died of a heart attack on Monday morning, with his family saying he was anxious over SIR hearing notices issued to his children. His son, a migrant worker in another state, was unable to return for the hearing, which allegedly made Shoaib grow anxious.


"My brother, Abdul Rahman, and I received notices for the hearing. Since my brother could not come from outside the state, my father was under severe stress for several days. Despite our reassurances, the fear of SIR led to my father's death," said Anjura Bibi, Shoaib's daughter.

Another case from Amdanga in the same district involved 66-year-old Mansur Ali Mondal, who allegedly died by suicide after receiving an SIR hearing notice. "He was extremely anxious since he did not have the necessary papers to submit. On Sunday night, before the scheduled hearing on Monday, he hanged himself," said his nephew Sheikh Sabir Ali.

In Nadia's Hogolberia area, 54-year-old private tutor Fujir Khan allegedly died by suicide after panicking over an SIR notice issued in his wife's name. Family members said the notice cited discrepancies such as spelling errors, triggering fears of possible deportation.

"Fujir panicked, fearing that his wife might be deported to Bangladesh," a family member said. He was rushed to Karimpur Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

In Birbhum's Rampurhat, Johnny Sheikh allegedly died by suicide on Sunday night. His family claimed fear of possible SIR notices in his ward drove him to take the step, after hearing that notices had been issued to 171 residents.

In Asansol's Salanpur block, in West Burdwan, 70-year-old retired railway employee Narayan Chandra Sengupta allegedly died by suicide after discovering that his and his daughter's names were missing from the draft electoral roll. His neighbour Prince Das said, "When Narayan did not come down for a long time, the family called out to him. Receiving no response, they went upstairs and found him hanging from the ceiling fan hook."

In Purulia's Manbazar area, 32-year-old Debraj Orang allegedly died by suicide ahead of his scheduled SIR hearing. "My husband was worried after receiving the notice, fearing his name would be removed from the electoral roll," said his wife, Bhanumati Orang.

(With inputs from Sanjib Chakraborty, Ashis Poddar, S Boral, Mohammad Asif & Tanuja Singh Deo)