Madrasa teacher dies due to heart-attack in Kulpi, family blames it on SIR panic

Escalating tensions over Bengal's voter list revisions, Shahabuddin Paik, 45, a Madrasa teacher from Kalicharanpur village under Dhola police station in Kulpi assembly constituency, succumbed to a heart attack at Diamond Harbour hospital—allegedly gripped by unrelenting fear from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Admitted since last Saturday after his heart attack, with his wife and four sons had been haunted by anxieties over his family's voter status for days. Kulpi TMC MLA Jogranjan Haldar and Mathurapur TMC MP Bapi Haldar met the victim's family, decrying the SIR as a tool of "terror" orchestrated by the Election Commission and the central government, insisting the pressure directly triggered Paik's fatal attack.

This incident marks yet another alleged "death by fear" linked to the SIR drive. The family said that since there was no name, Shahabuddin was worried due to this and thinking a lot about what was going to happen next leading to his death, recounted how Paik had been visibly distressed in recent days, poring over documents and fears, a sentiment that swelled into panic as SIR teams visiting the area. As accusations fly, the BJP has swiftly branded the episode a "staged drama" of dirty politics, accusing ruling party leaders of exploiting the tragedy to malign the revision process and stoke voter unrest ahead of potential polls.

TMC MLA and MP alongwith the victim's family, however blamed the Election Commissioner and the central government for Shahabuddin's death. This death has ignited fresh debates on the human cost of electoral hygiene—questioning whether the quest for clean lists is cleansing communities of their trust instead. Authorities remain tight-lipped, but the ripple effects could pressure the Election Commission to review its rollout in volatile zones, lest more hearts break under the weight of unchecked fear.