95-year-old man commits suicide in Birbhum amid fear of SIR, CM Mamata tweets

In the quiet lanes of Bolpur, a 95-year-old man's life unraveled into unimaginable despair today, gripped by a fear so profound it drove him to the unthinkable. Khitish Majumdar, a resident of West Midnapore, was found hanging from a rope, his body discovered by family in his daughter's home in Birbhum district—a heartbreaking end allegedly fueled by panic over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. Having migrated from Bangladesh around 1995 and settled in West Midnapore, where he proudly cast votes in multiple elections, Khitish's world crumbled when he learned his name was missing from the 2002 electoral rolls.

"The fear of SIR itself took away his life," his family member recounted through tears. He kept asking, 'My name isn't there—does that mean I have to go back to Bangladesh?' This terror mentally crippled him. This isn't an isolated tragedy; it's the second such suicide in the state related to SIR.The family's anguish poured out as they rushed the 95-year-old man's body to Bolpur Subdivisional Hospital for autopsy, piecing together the days leading up: endless questions to neighbors, frantic checks of old documents, and a deepening silence that masked his inner storm. Despite his long-standing voter status post-1995, the omission from 2002 ignited visions of uprooting, echoing old wounds from the partition era when families like his fled persecution only to chase elusive security.

Bengal Police arrived swiftly and probe is underway. In a state bracing for assembly polls, where every name on the list is a stake in the future, Khitish's story isn't just a footnote—it's a clarion call to bridge the chasm between intent and impact, ensuring that revisions empower rather than erase. CM Mamata Banerjee tweets condeming this incident. For families like his, still sifting through grief, the real revision needed is one of the heart: a reassurance that home isn't revoked by a missing ink mark, but earned through the unyielding threads of time and toil.