Elderly man dies by suicide in West Bengal, family alleges fear over voter list revision

Kolkata: An elderly man from West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipore district allegedly died by suicide in Birbhum after being reportedly distressed over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, his family claimed on Thursday.

This is the second such death reported in West Bengal in the past 72 hours, following a similar incident at Panihati near Kolkata. A farmer in Cooch Behar, who tried to end his life, is currently admitted to hospital.

According to police, the deceased, identified as Kshitish Majumdar, was found hanging at his daughter’s residence in Illambazar area of Birbhum district on Wednesday night.

"The old man was found hanging from the ceiling of one of the rooms of his daughter's residence here in Illambazar. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. His family alleged that the person was under severe stress, fearing exclusion following the voter list verification process," a police officer claimed.

Family members claimed that Majumdar had been anxious after learning that his name was missing from the 2002 electoral rolls.

"He would often say that since his name was not there in the 2002 voter list, would he have to go back to Bangladesh?" a family member said, adding that he had been mentally disturbed over the matter.

Police have registered an unnatural death case and begun an investigation.

No official statement has yet been issued by the Election Commission regarding the incident.