Bengal records 2 more ‘SIR- linked suicides’; push toll to 7

Kolkata: Bengal on Tuesday recorded two more suicides, allegedly linked to public anxiety over the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls, heightening political tensions in the state.

While a 28-year-old daily-wage labourer from Uluberia died by suicide on Tuesday, the day Bengal’s SIR of electoral rolls formally began, at Kandi of Murshidabad district, 45-year-old farmer Mahul Sheikh allegedly consumed pesticide while working in his field in the afternoon. Sheikh was first taken to Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital and later to Berhampore Medical College and Hospital, where he died en route, police said. “He had been anxious after discovering that his name was missing from the 2002 voter list and feared potential consequences under the SIR initiative,” a senior police officer said, adding that the body had been sent for post-mortem examination.

In Uluberia East, Zahir Mal of Khalisani Gram Panchayat was found hanging inside his residence early on Tuesday morning. His family alleges he had been deeply anxious in recent days, fearing he might be branded a “foreigner”, after he had tried to correct the documents over several weeks but had been unsuccessful.

His wife, Rejina Bibi, said Zahir repeatedly voiced fears of being “sent away”, despite being born and raised in the area. Police have not recovered any suicide note and have sent the body for post-mortem.

Shortly after the incident, a Trinamool Congress delegation, instructed by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, visited the grieving family. State minister Pulak Roy, who led the team, said the atmosphere of fear generated around the SIR has started claiming innocent lives. “Today, simply speaking Bengali is enough for someone to be doubted,” he said.

With this incident, the total number of suspected SIR-linked deaths in the state has risen to 7, as similar cases were previously recorded at Panihati, Baharampur, Ilambazar, Titagarh and in Dankuni.