Narayan Chandra Sengupta (70), a retired employee of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), who was residing at Rupnarayanpur under the Salanpur police station area, allegedly died by suicide after experiencing extreme anxiety over the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
According to family members, Sengupta had been summoned for a hearing on Monday in connection with the SIR. They claimed that he was unable to produce all the required documents and had been under severe mental stress as a result.
The family stated that both Sengupta and his younger daughter were called for the hearing after her name appeared in the 2002 electoral roll with his name listed as her father, while his own name was missing from the list.
“For the past few days, he had been living in constant fear over whether his and his younger daughter’s documents would be accepted as valid. On Sunday evening, he died by hanging himself from the ceiling,” said his neighbour, Prince Das.
Bidhan Upadhyay, MLA from Barabani and Mayor of the Asansol Municipal Corporation, said that in the name of the SIR, elderly people were being unnecessarily harassed and described the incident as deeply unfortunate. “I will visit his house, and our party will stand by the family. The Booth Level Agent (BLA) has already visited the house and will provide assistance,” he added.
Laltu Das, Sengupta’s younger son-in-law, said that he had three daughters and that his wife, the youngest, had been called for the hearing. “He was normal until the afternoon and even went to the market on Sunday to buy vegetables and fish. However, he could not bear the tension of what might happen on Monday and took this step,” he said.
The Barabani block unit of the BJP has remained silent on the issue so far.