Elderly man from Matua community dies near Ashoknagar rly station; family links death to SIR anxiety

Kolkata, Jan 14 (PTI) A 70-year-old man belonging to the Matua community died after being hit by a train near a railway station in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, with his family claiming that anxiety over a scheduled SIR hearing drove him to suicide.

The deceased, identified as Nikhil Chandra Das, was a resident of Guma-Shantinagar area at Ashoknagar.

He was found critically injured near Guma station on the Bongaon-Sealdah section late Tuesday night and was rushed by railway police to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Family members alleged that Das had been under severe mental stress after receiving a notice to appear for an SIR hearing on Wednesday.

According to them, he repeatedly feared that he might be forced to "go back to Bangladesh" if his documents were rejected.

"Ever since the notice arrived, he remained extremely worried. He kept thinking he would be sent back to Bangladesh. Despite showing his documents to neighbours, he remained anxious and even approached a local BJP member for additional papers," a family member told a news channel.

Eyewitnesses said Das was alive for a few moments after the incident and had asked for water before losing consciousness.

The Bongaon Government Railway Police (GRP) has sent the body for post-mortem examination and is investigating the circumstances of the death.

Reacting to the incident, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur said members of the Matua community were bearing the brunt of the SIR process.

"We stand with the family. How many more lives will be lost? Can the Election Commission bring these lives back? We condemn this," she said.

However, a local BJP panchayat member, Beauty Barui, disputed the allegation that the death was linked solely to the SIR process.

"There was some family discord. He had frequent quarrels with one of his sons and was under domestic pressure. What prompted him to take this step cannot be stated with certainty," she said.

In a separate incident the same day, a 65-year-old man died in South Dinajpur district after falling ill while returning from an SIR hearing.

The deceased, Fayezuddin Sarkar, a resident of Jamlabad village under Tapan block, had appeared for the hearing at the Tapan block administrative office on Tuesday afternoon.

According to local sources, Sarkar fell ill on his way back home and was first taken to the Tapan block primary health centre.

As his condition deteriorated, he was referred to Kalidindi Hospital in Gangarampur subdivision, where he died late at night.

The TMC has claimed that since the SIR process began in the state on November 4, at least 70 people have died, with some allegedly dying by suicide and others succumbing to stress and anxiety linked to the exercise.

The BJP has rejected the allegation as politically motivated, maintaining that the SIR is a routine exercise carried out by the Election Commission across the country to update electoral rolls, and accused the TMC of exploiting deaths for political gain and to malign the poll panel. PTI PNT MNB