Two deaths ‘linked to SIR anxiety’ reported in West Bengal: Officials

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• Families link two West Bengal deaths to anxiety over electoral roll revision
• Families blame SIR notices for stress; officials await medical reports for cause.
• BLOs protest in Kolkata, seek compensation and improved SIR exercise planning

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Two persons died in different parts of West Bengal on Monday, with the families of both claiming that anxiety related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was the reason for their deaths.

A middle-aged man collapsed and died in a market in Uttar Dinajpur’s Kaliaganj in the northern part of the state, while an elderly woman breathed her last after suffering a stroke at Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district in the south.

The man recently received a notice for the SIR hearing, and the woman attended the exercise last week.

In Kaliaganj, a 50-plus daily wage labourer, Lakshmikanta Ray, collapsed and died on Monday afternoon at the crowded Dhankaili market, police said.

A resident of Bochadanga Chandol village, Ray was rushed to Kaliaganj State General Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Police have sent the body for a post-mortem examination, they said.

Family members claimed that Ray was under severe mental stress after receiving a notice for an SIR hearing, fearing loss of voting rights as his name did not figure in the 2002 electoral roll. He was scheduled to appear before the Block Development Officer on January 19.

“He stopped eating and going to work after getting the notice,” his son Hiru Ray claimed.

Trinamool Congress leader Nitai Vaishya blamed the Election Commission, while BJP youth leader Gouranga Das rejected the charge, calling the allegations politically motivated.

Police said the cause of death would be known after the post-mortem.

In the other incident at Baduria, 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 on late Sunday night, her son said, demanding an impartial investigation.

Officials said investigations are ongoing and stressed that conclusions can be drawn only after medical reports are available.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that the SIR "has already seen 77 deaths with 4 attempts to suicide and 17 persons falling sick", and attributed them to "fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload due to unplanned exercise undertaken by ECI." Meanwhile, a section of BLOs staged a protest in front of the state Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Kolkata on Monday, alleging that several of them died because of work pressure.

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 is being carried out without proper planning and claimed that the Election Commission has remained silent on compensation for the deceased.

They submitted a letter seeking a meeting with the state CEO and immediate action on compensation.