Kolkata, April 6 – A man allegedly committed suicide after his name was removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, police said on Monday.
The deceased, identified as Anarul Sheikh (32), a resident of Nalhati in Birbhum district, was reportedly under severe mental stress after discovering that his name had been deleted from the voter list following the publication of the supplementary electoral roll.
Family members claim that he committed suicide by consuming poison. The villagers are outraged over Sheikh's death. They accuse the Election Commission of removing names under the SIR exercise without proper screening. They have also warned that they will boycott the elections if this continues.
Locals say that the deceased, Anarul Sheikh (32), was a resident of ward number 13 of Nalhati Municipality. His name was listed as "under adjudication" in the voter list. After receiving the notice, he submitted all the necessary documents.
Following instructions from the Election Commission, Anarul Sheikh went to the Rampurhat Subdivisional Office to appeal. There, he collapsed due to mental stress, according to his family. They allege that Anarul Sheikh committed suicide by consuming poison after returning home. He was rushed to the Nalhati Primary Health Centre after the incident. The doctors there shifted him to another hospital. However, Anarul Sheikh died on the way.
Anarul Sheikh is survived by two sons. His sudden death has cast a shadow over the area. Locals claim that the names of ordinary people are being arbitrarily excluded, leading to tragic consequences.
The locals have raised questions about the entire SIR process. They claim that names are being excluded without proper verification, which is why such tragic incidents are happening. They have also warned of boycotting the elections if the situation does not change.
Meanwhile, the police have sent the body for postmortem examination.