Families link deaths of 2 elderly to SIR

Kolkata: At the very start of the New Year, fear associated with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal reportedly contributed to the deaths of two elderly residents — one from Basirhat in North 24-Parganas and another from Bankura district.

In Basirhat’s Swarupnagar area, 60-year-old Sultan Sardar, a migrant worker whose name was not listed in the 2002 voter rolls, was summoned for a SIR hearing on December 27. Sardar’s family members, including his son, have their names in the 2002 voter roll. Although he attended the hearing at the Block Development Officer’s office, anxiety over potential consequences left him stressed and bedridden, his family claimed.

According to the family, he repeatedly expressed fear about having to leave his children behind, and eventually died at home from what relatives describe as tension-related health issues.

Similarly, in Bankura’s Bishnupur block, 65-year-old Rahima Bibi, whose name also did not appear in electoral records despite possessing valid voter and Aadhaar cards, was scheduled for a SIR hearing on January 2. The fear of being unable to produce required documents and rumours circulating about detention camps and pushback intensified her distress, her family said. Locals say she suffered a fatal heart attack amid growing panic over the process.