Elderly woman commits suicide in Basirhat over SIR distress

Kolkata: A tragic incident linked to anxiety over the Special Intensive Revision of the voter list has come to light from Baduria in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas. A woman allegedly died by suicide after being distressed over the status of her and her sons’ names in the electoral roll.

The deceased has been identified as Reena Rani Kundu (50). According to sources, the family lives in Chandipur village of Baduria. Family members and local residents said that in the recently published final list under the SIR process, Reena Rani Kundu’s name appeared as “under adjudication.” However, the names of her two sons- Shubhadip and Soumen- were reportedly removed from the list altogether.

The development triggered anxiety within the family. Locals said they have been living in the area for many years and possess necessary documents. Questions were raised as to how such a situation could arise despite their long residence and available papers. Family members alleged that Kundu had been mentally disturbed for the past few days over the uncertainty surrounding the issue. She reportedly kept worrying about what would happen if her name was also deleted from the voter list. On the day of the incident, overwhelmed by the uncertainty and fear about the final outcome, the woman allegedly took the extreme step at her residence. Family members later discovered the incident and informed the police.

Police reached the spot, recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem. An investigation has been initiated to ascertain the exact circumstances of the death. The incident took place at a time when the sit-in protest against the mass deletion of voters in the SIR final list entered its fourth day, under the leadership of TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee. Previously, around 170 people have lost their lives due to anxiety

regarding SIR.