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A West Bengal farmer tried to take his own life, fearing that a spelling mistake in his voter ID card could result in his name being struck off the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, ahead of next year’s assembly elections. The incident took place on Wednesday in the Jeetpur area of Burirhat-2 Gram Panchayat of Dinhata in Cooch Behar. According to the sources cited by NDTV, Khairul Shaikh drank pesticide while he was working on a farm. He was taken to Dinhata hospital and was later referred to Cooch Behar MJN Medical College Hospital. He is currently stable. “My name is wrongly spelt in the voter list. I was scared that I would be removed from the voter list, so I attempted suicide,” he told reporters inside the hospital, as cited by the outlet. His name, which is spelt as Shaikh, has been spelt as Sekh in his voter id card. He lives with his wife and a specially abled daughter. Sheikh had reportedly been stressed since the launch of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in West Bengal. TMC Leader Visits Him Meanwhile, Abhijeet De Bhowmik, the Trinamool Congress district president of Cooch Behar, visited the hospital to check on his condition after receiving the information. “This tragic incident has happened because of fear and confusion. Fear has spread among the general public regarding SIR,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV. CM Mamata Banerjee Directs Minister Udayan Guha To Visit Farmer Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also asked state minister and MLA Udayan Guha to visit the farmer. “I want every genuine voter to stay well. We do not divide and rule. I pray that democracy becomes stronger with the judicial and press pillars,” she said. Second Incident In Two Days The incident happened only a day after a 57-year-old man in the North 24 Parganas district died by suicide, saying, “NRC (National Register of Citizens) is responsible for my death.” “The SIR was announced recently. His family claimed he was restless since then. The family thought he was feeling unwell. After having dinner, he went to bed in his room. In the morning, his brother’s wife called him many times but got no response. After this, other members of the family and neighbours entered the house and found his body,” Barrackpore Police Commissioner Muralidhar said.
