Two Die In Bengal As Families Link Deaths To Anxiety Over SIR

Two people died in West Bengal on New Year’s Day, with their families alleging that anxiety linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls triggered fatal heart attacks, according to Times of India. The deaths were reported from Swarupnagar in North 24 Parganas and Bishnupur in Bankura district.

According to Times of India, the first incident involved 60-year-old Sultan Sardar, a resident of Swarupda village under Swarupnagar police station limits. Sardar died of a heart attack on Thursday morning, four days after appearing for an SIR hearing at the Swarupnagar block office. Local sources said his name did not feature in the 2002 voters’ list, though the names of his parents did.

Motiar Rehman, Sardar’s cousin, told Times of India that Sultan had received a notice to attend an SIR hearing and appeared before officials on December 27. “He received a notice to appear for an SIR hearing and attended it at the Swarupnagar block office on Dec 27. He was informed during the hearing that there were discrepancies in his documents. Since then, he was under severe mental stress,” Rehman said.

Family members said Sultan fell ill soon after returning from the hearing and remained anxious in the days that followed before suffering a heart attack. His wife, Dilwara Bibi, said his absence from the 2002 voters’ list was linked to his work history. “My husband was a migrant labourer in 2002 which was why his name was not in the voters’ list, though the names of his parents were on it. After returning from the hearing, he kept worrying and saying, ‘At this age, where will I go leaving my children and family behind?’” she said.

Sardar’s son, Osman, alleged that the fear surrounding the SIR process led to his father’s death. “This SIR must be stopped immediately. Otherwise, none of us will survive. We too will die,” he said.

A similar allegation was reported from Bishnupur in Bankura, where 55-year-old Rahima Bibi, a resident of the Ledger Ghat area, died of a heart attack on Thursday morning, Times of India reported. After the death of her husband, Rahima lived with her daughter and son-in-law.

Her daughter, Fatema Bibi, said Rahima’s name also did not appear on the 2002 voters’ list, leaving her unable to provide information from that year while filling out the SIR enumeration form. “She was extremely anxious ever since she received the notice for the hearing. She had no documents to submit. She was supposed to appear for the hearing on Friday, but died of a heart attack on Thursday morning due to fear,” Fatema alleged.

Bankura MP Arup Chakraborty said local panchayat members had tried repeatedly to help Rahima arrange the required documents. “But she died of a heart attack even before appearing for the hearing. We will launch protests against such tragic deaths caused by unethical pressure from the Election Commission,” he said.

Both families have alleged that the stress and uncertainty generated by the SIR process contributed directly to the deaths, with political leaders now calling for protests over the manner in which the revision exercise is being conducted.

(With inputs from Times Of India)