Fear and stress over SIR hearings blamed for two deaths in South Dinajpur, political storm follows

BALURGHAT: Two deaths in South Dinajpur district, allegedly linked to fear and stress over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, have triggered widespread grief and a sharp political confrontation between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition BJP.

In the first incident, a 30-year-old migrant worker, Subhash Hembram of Kamatpara village under Ashokgram gram panchayat in Gangarampur Police Station area, allegedly died by suicide while returning home from Goa. According to family members and Trinamool leaders, Hembram had received a notice to appear for an SIR hearing scheduled on Thursday. Panic-stricken after receiving the notice, he left Goa on January 11 and boarded a train to return home.

Family members alleged that while the train was halted for a long time at a signal near Bhubaneswar, Hembram became extremely anxious, fearing he would fail to reach home in time for the hearing. In a state of panic, he reportedly got down from the train and hanged himself from a nearby tree using a gamcha. Odisha Police later recovered the body and after conducting a post-mortem examination, handed it over to the family. The body reached his native village on Thursday, plunging the family into deep mourning.

South Dinajpur district Trinamool Congress general secretary Mofizuddin Mia, who visited the bereaved family, said: “Subhash Hembram committed suicide due to fear over the SIR hearing. He received the notice recently and rushed back from another state. Not only him, his entire family is living in fear. Our party stands firmly beside the family.”

However, Gangarampur BJP MLA Satyendranath Ray rejected the allegation and accused the ruling party of politicising the tragedy. “Nowadays, the Trinamool Congress is trying to do politics over every death. The migrant worker might have died for some other reason. Any death is unfortunate, but it should not be politicised,” he said.

In another incident, an elderly man allegedly died after suffering extreme physical strain and mental stress related to an SIR hearing in Tapan block. Fayezuddin Sarkar (66), a resident of Mirzapur village under Chandipur gram panchayat, fell ill after attending his scheduled hearing at the Tapan Block Office on Tuesday.

According to the family, Sarkar had been mentally disturbed ever since he received a notice after his name was found missing from the 2002 voter list. Despite being unwell, he attended the hearing and was allegedly made to stand in a long queue under the scorching sun. He reportedly collapsed after returning home and was taken to Tapan Rural Hospital and later to Gangarampur Super Specialty Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Trinamool Congress Tapan block president Subrata Ranjan Dhar said: “The harassment being carried out in the name of SIR under the BJP-led Central government is responsible for this death. An elderly man lost his life due to this pressure.”

Countering the claim, South Dinajpur BJP general secretary Gautam Ray said: “Any death is painful, but it appears to be age-related.

The Trinamool Congress is once again trying to draw political mileage out of a tragic incident.”