Bengal electoral roll stress: 82-year-old kills self before SIR hearing, 96-year-old stands in queue; multiple fatalities reported

KOLKATA : An 82-year-old jumped on railway tracks hours before his scheduled appearance in a hearing for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Purulia’s Para on Monday.

A septuagenarian from Howrah and another from Kalyani died on Monday after receiving SIR hearing notices. Family members of both blamed SIR stress for the deaths.

As SIR hearings entered their third day on Monday, reports poured in of panic and anxiety, at times with fatal consequences, gripping ‘unmapped’ voters who are being asked to appear before Election Commission officials.




Election Commission in an order on Monday again clarified that booth-level officials would be going to the homes of voters aged 85 years and more as well as those with disabilities and ailments if there were requests.

A 96-year-old man in Cooch Behar, a 90-year-old woman in Katwa and a pregnant homemaker from Taki were among the thousands who had to wait in queues to appear in hearings.

Durjan Majhi, 82, jumped on railway tracks and was run over by a train at 8.30am, around 5 hours before he was to appear in an SIR hearing at the Para BDO office.

His only son Kanai, who works as a day labourer, said, “My father had submitted the SIR enumeration form but his name was not on the draft voters’ list. His name was on the 2002 voters’ list, though. We can’t figure out why he was called to a hearing. He had been anxious since getting the hearing notice on Dec 25.”

Jamat Ali, 75, passed away at his home in Howrah’s Amta on Sunday night, hours after receiving a hearing notice. Howrah DM P Deepap Priya said, “He was already unwell. His family claimed he was anxious about the hearing. An inquiry is underway.”

In Kalyani, Jaharlal Mahato, 72, died of cardiac arrest on Monday, 48 hours after he attended an SIR hearing. Son Tamaghlal said, “He had been distressed since the hearing. His name was on the 2002 list, yet he was called to a hearing.”

DM: Didn’t get any written instruction on home visits

At Dinhata Block 1 BDO office in Cooch Behar, 96year-old Nikhil Chandra Sarkar had turned up with his wife and son to appear before EC officials. He could barely walk because of his age and ailments. “I am the only one in my family to get the SIR notice. My name was not on the 2002 list. I gave them whatever documents I had,” Sarkar said, visibly frustrated.

At Katwa I BDO office, one of the persons in the queue was a 90-year-old bedridden woman, Muktibala Paramanik. “This is harassment,” said grandson Paritosh Paramanik.

East Burdwan DM Ayesha Rani said, “We did not get any written instruction that hearings for elderly people should be conducted at home. Even so, Iinstructed that elderly and infirm people should not be called.”

A woman from Taki, who is eight months pregnant, fell ill while waiting in a long queue at the Basirhat Block II BDO office. Supriya Mondal got a hearing notice as her name did not feature on the 2002 list. Her mother, Khukurani Das, said, “After waiting for a long time in the crowd, my daughter suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed.”

The scenes in Kolkata were no different. A young woman had arrived at a hearing venue in central Kolkata with her 3month-old child. “We came here around 1 pm. While filling the enumeration form, my wife had mistakenly entered her father’s details as per the 2025 voter ID card, instead of the 2002 electoral roll. She was called to the hearing because of the mismatch,” said husband Md Hussain.

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