A 68-year-old man, who was undergoing treatment for breathing-related ailments and had to appear for an SIR hearing with a cannula inserted in his nose, died in Kolkata on Sunday allegedly due to anxiety over the voter roll revision.
According to his family, Nazitul Mollah, a resident of Uttar Thakurechak area under the Gardeowani gram panchayat in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas, had been suffering from respiratory ailment and was hospitalised on December 20 after his condition worsened.
While he was in the hospital, Mollah was served a notice to appear for an SIR hearing, allegedly after his name was not found in the 2002 voter list.
He was discharged on December 28 with a cannula inserted in his nose, and according to the family, he had appeared at the hearing centre on December 31 despite his frail condition.
His health deteriorated again after returning home, and he was readmitted to the same hospital on January 2.
Doctors declared him dead on Saturday night, the family said.
"He was unwell for a long time, but the hearing notice pushed him into extreme anxiety. Ignoring his physical condition, he went for the hearing with a tube in his nose. The stress and travel took a toll he could not survive," the family member was quoted as saying by PTI.
The family said that fear linked to the SIR process and mental stress aggravated his condition.
"SIR took him away from us," another relative claimed.
The death came less than a week after an elderly man allegedly killed himself, days before he was to appear for the SIR hearing.
Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) slammed the Election Commission for allegedly creating a climate of fear and claimed that at least 56 people have died in the state so far due to "anxiety, stress or suicide allegedly linked to fear surrounding the SIR."
"So many people have died due to fear over the SIR process. Now Jaynagar has joined that list. This is happening because of the BJP's conspiracy to intimidate and disenfranchise poor people," a local TMC leader said.
The BJP rejected the allegations and accused the TMC of "exploiting the deaths for political gain."
"The SIR is a routine process conducted across India to update voter lists. The TMC is exploiting deaths for political gain and to malign the BJP. Law and order and healthcare are the state government's responsibility," a local BJP leader said.
The Election Commission is yet to comment on the incident.
More than 58 lakh voters were deleted from the draft rolls published on December 16, after the initial phase of SIR in the state. Out of the 7.6 crore total voters, the EC has also raised speculation regarding the "genuineness" of about 1.66 crore voters, who have been called for hearing to verify their documents again.
