Two more people died in West Bengal on Monday, with their families alleging that anxiety linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was responsible for their deaths, one in Uttar Dinajpur and the other in North 24 Parganas.
In northern West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, a daily wage labourer collapsed and died at a crowded market in Kaliaganj.
In the south, an elderly woman died after suffering a stroke in Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district. The man had recently received a notice to appear for an SIR hearing, while the woman had attended the exercise last week.
In Kaliaganj, Lakshmikanta Ray, a labourer in his 50s and a resident of Bochadanga Chandol village, collapsed on Monday afternoon at the Dhankaili market, police said. He was rushed to Kaliaganj State General Hospital, where he was declared dead. His body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
Family members claimed Ray had been under severe mental stress after receiving a notice for an SIR hearing, fearing the loss of his voting rights as his name did not appear in the 2002 electoral roll. He was scheduled to appear before the Block Development Officer on January 19. His son, Hiru Ray, said his father had stopped eating and going to work after receiving the notice.
Police said the exact cause of death would be known only after the post-mortem report.
In the other incident, at Baduria in North 24 Parganas, Anita Biswas died after suffering a stroke, which her family linked to anxiety following an SIR hearing. Her son, Kashinath Biswas, said her name appeared in the 1995 voter list but was missing from the 2002 roll.
“We attended a hearing on January 5 and submitted the documents, but got no clear assurance,” he said. Anita Biswas suffered a stroke on January 7, was admitted to Basirhat District Hospital, and died late Sunday night. The family has demanded an impartial investigation.
Officials said inquiries are underway and stressed that conclusions can be drawn only after medical reports are available.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that the SIR exercise “has already seen 77 deaths, with four attempts at suicide and 17 persons falling sick,” which she attributed to “fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload due to the unplanned exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India.”
Separately, a section of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) staged a protest in front of the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata on Monday, alleging that several of their colleagues had died due to work pressure linked to the SIR exercise.
Members of the BLO Rights Protection Committee, accompanied by families of the deceased, allegedly tried to break police barricades and enter the office, leading to scuffles with the police. The protesters alleged that the SIR work was being carried out without proper planning and claimed that the Election Commission had remained silent on compensation for the deceased.
They submitted a letter seeking a meeting with the state Chief Electoral Officer and immediate action on compensation.
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