Ritabrata visits kin of Ambari resident who died due to ‘SIR fear’

Siliguri: Ritabrata Banerjee, the state president of the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC), on Monday met the family of Bhuban Chandra Roy, a 60-year-old resident of Ambari in Rajganj, Jalpaiguri district, who allegedly died by suicide after becoming distressed over issues related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Banerjee visited the grieving family and assured them of every possible support from the party. Speaking to the media afterward, he strongly criticised the BJP over the SIR process.

“The BJP is using the Election Commission of India as their agents to remove the names of genuine voters from the voter list and to push NRC,” Banerjee alleged. “As per the instructions of Abhishek Banerjee, we are visiting every house where people have died out of fear created by the SIR process. We stand firmly with the people.”

The INTTUC president also expressed concern over the pressure being faced by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the SIR, claiming that the workload and confusion surrounding the enumeration have also affected the health of several BLOs.

Bhuban Roy reportedly grew anxious when the name of one of his daughters, Shivani Roy, was missing from the SIR enumeration form, despite the names of the other family members being present.

Last Thursday night, he left home and was later found hanging from a tree near the house.