Bengal SIR shocker! Man commits suicide ‘fearing exclusion from voter list’, family says he was ‘terrified’ of…

West Bengal SIR: In a shocking incident, a man committed suicide in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday because he allegedly feared that his name would be struck off the voter list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

Bengal man dies by suicide over SIR fears

The family claimed that the deceased, identified as Safikul Gazi, feared that he would be excluded from voter list in the ongoing West Bengal SIR for lack of papers, and was “terrified” of being “thrown out of the country”.

“He was terrified about not having valid identity papers. He kept saying he would be thrown out of the country. He had even fallen ill out of fear. This morning, after having tea, he went to tie the goats and later we found him hanging with a ‘gamchha’ (towel) at the goat shed,” the victim’s wife told reporters, according to news agency PTI.

The deceased’ family said he had been mentally disturbed since being involved in an accident a few months ago, and had grown increasingly anxious after the SIR exercise began in the state.

Official said Gazi, originally a resident of Ghushighata in North 24 Parganas, had been living at his in-laws’ house in Jaypur area of Bhangar for the past few months.

8th such death, claims TMC

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed that Gazi’s death was the eighth such incident in the state over fears of being excluded from the voter list in the West Bengal SIR. The ruling party accused the BJP of of “creating panic” through SIR, with TMC’s Canning East MLA Shaukat Molla, alleging a “conspiracy” by the saffron party to “to intimidate and disenfranchise poor people”.

“Till Tuesday, seven people had died due to fear over the SIR process. Now, Bhangar has joined that list. This is happening because of the BJP’s conspiracy to intimidate and disenfranchise poor people,” Molla alleged after visiting the bereaved family,  adding that he went there as per instructions of the TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

How did BJP react?

Reacting to TMC’s allegations, the BJP dismissed the charges as “politically motivated drama”, and noted that SIR is a routine process to update voter lists.

“The SIR is a routine Election Commission process conducted across India(BHARAT) to update voter lists. The TMC is using these deaths for political gain and to malign the BJP. Law and order is the state government’s responsibility, not ours,” BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said.

The Election Commission is yet to comment on the incident.

West Bengal SIR, which aims to update electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, has sparked tension in several districts, with the TMC alleging that it is being used as a tool for “silent voter deletion” and the BJP insisting it ensures “clean and authentic rolls”.

(With PTI inputs)