‘Khoirul and Khairul, spellings of my name are different… fear my name will be deleted’: Bengal farmer who tried to kill himself after SIR roll out

Police said Khairul Sheikh, a resident of Jitpur Pratham Khanda village in Dinhata, consumed pesticide as “he was anxious over his name being wrongly recorded in the 2002 voters’ list”.

He was admitted to Maharaja Jitendra Narayan Medical College Hospital in Cooch Behar town.

“I have heard something like SIR will happen. I have a problem with the spelling of my name. I was in a panic, that’s why I drank poison. I fear my name will be deleted from the voters’ list in the SIR. I voted in previous elections. In the 2002 (SIR) list, my name is Khoirul Sheikh. But on my voter ID card, it is Khairul Sheikh. Everyone said I may be in trouble. I was tense,” Khairul told mediapersons at the hospital.

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police  Sandip Karra said: “Around 9 am, he (Sheikh) consumed pesticide at his home. He was rushed to the hospital, where he is in the intensive care unit. We are investigating the case.”

Despite the EC’s assurance of no deletions of valid voters from the electoral list, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee slammed both the Election Commission and the BJP for instilling fear among the people by bringing in ‘NRC’ in the garb of SIR.

The TMC escalated its attack through a strongly worded post on X, saying, “Two lives. Two tragedies. One cause. BJP’s politics of hate. How many more lives will it take, Narendra Modi, for you to stop weaponising citizenship?”

“Just a few hours back, a farmer in Dinhata tried to commit suicide because he was in fear and panic after the announcement of SIR. In the last few days, he was depressed over the documents required for the SIR. Yesterday’s death (Panihati) and today’s suicide bid by (Khairul) prove that people are worried over the SIR. Many people of Cooch Behar are in panic. Some have spelling mistakes in their documents, and some do not have their name in the 2002 SIR list. Many are approaching us. The condition of the man is critical. Election Commission cannot shirk its responsibility for such back-to-back incidents,” said Partha Pratim Roy, former district president of TMC.

On Tuesday, Pradeep Kar, 57, was found hanging at his Panihati home. A purported ‘suicide note’ in his diary stated “NRC is responsible for my death”. Mamata Banerjee had blamed the BJP for Kar’s death and posted on X, “What greater indictment can there be of the BJP’s politics of fear and division?”