Trader found hanging; family alleges SIR stress

Raiganj: A 65-year-old scrap trader was found hanging under mysterious circumstances in Subhasganj in North Dinajpur district on Thursday morning. The deceased, identified as Bablu Paul, allegedly commited suicide, with his family members claiming that he was under severe mental stress following a recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing.

According to police sources, Paul left behind a suicide note stating that none of his family members were responsible for his death. Relatives alleged that he had been gripped by fear after attending an SIR-related hearing on January 6, despite submitting all required documents.

Ratan Paul, younger brother of the deceased, said: “My elder brother attended the SIR hearing and submitted all documents. But since then, he was extremely anxious that his name might be deleted from the voters’ list. He was even afraid that he could be sent to Bangladesh. He was the sole bread earner of the family. We appeal to the Election Commission of India to provide financial assistance to his family.”

The deceased’s wife, Anima Paul, echoed similar concerns and stated: “After the hearing, his behavior changed completely. Early on Thursday morning, he went out saying he needed to attend nature’s call. When he did not return for nearly two hours, we began searching and found him hanging about 100 meters from our house. He was very afraid after the SIR hearing.”

A police officer said the body was sent for post-mortem and a probe has begun. On Malda BLO Samprita Choudhury Sanyal’s death, the CEO said no unnatural death case or post-mortem was done, and no evidence links it to SIR duties.