A 63-year-old man from Coochbehar, West Bengal, allegedly attempted to die by suicide on Wednesday, amid growing panic over the rollout of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), phase two. This comes just a day after 57-year-old Pradip Kar from North 24 Parganas died by suicide, leaving behind a note blaming NRC and SIR for his death.
According to reports, the man, identified as Khairul Sheikh, reportedly consumed poison in Coochbehar’s Jitpur area. Locals claimed he had been living in constant fear of being sent to Bangladesh, and that anxiety over the SIR process had allegedly pushed him to the brink.
“I consumed poison. They are saying some SIR is being conducted; the spelling of my name is incorrect on the voter’s list, and so I was scared. I thought they would strike off my name because of the spelling error. I have previously cast my vote, but this time around some were saying that I might get deported if my name gets removed from the voter’s list. I am illiterate; I don’t know much about any of this,” said Khairul Sheikh, recuperating at a local hospital.
The 63-year-old claimed that he is an Indian citizen, and was born and raised in Bengal’s Coochbehar. “My name is present on the 2002 voter’s list, but it says Khairu Sheikh, however, my name on all of my documentation is Khairul Sheikh,” he added.
Trinamool Congress National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, who visited Pradip Kar’s family on Wednesday, accused the BJP of spreading fear and misinformation over SIR. He held BJP, and Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar responsible for both, Pradip Kar’s death and the Coochbehar’s Khairul Sheikh’s attempted suicide.
“While I was at Pradip babu’s house, talking to his brother, I got the news that another from Dinhata consumed poison, and attempted to die by suicide, amidst growing fear over SIR. He has been hospitalised, and I pray to the almighty for his speedy recovery. Day in and day out, common people are living in a constant state of fear. I am truly ashamed that a political party can stoop so low only for vote-bank politics,” said Banerjee.
