A case has been registered against the Election Commission of India in West Bengal's Purulia district in connection with the death of an 82-year-old man who allegedly died by suicide due to anxiety over the contravorsial Special intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, reported PTI.
According to the report citing officials, the FIR was registered based on the complaint of the deceased's son.
"The case includes charges of abetment of suicide and criminal conspiracy against officials of the Election Commission. No official was named in the FIR," an officer was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Durjan Majhi, a tribal man of Choutala village in Para block, died allegedly by suicide on December 29, hours before he was scheduled to appear for an SIR hearing.
Majhi's family alleged that he ended his life due to anxiety over the SIR.
The police action came hours after another man, 50-year-old Akshat Ali Mondal of Nawdapara village died on Tuesday, allegedly due to extreme mental stress after being served a notice for the SIR hearing.
"He reportedly fell ill within days of receiving the notice and was taken to Sadikhardiyar Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead," a family member said.
According to the ruling Trinamool Congress, at least 40 people, including Booth Level Officers (BLO) have died allegedly due to workload, stress and anxiety related to the SIR, since the exercise began in November 2025.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written as many as five letters to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, mentioning the rising number of deaths allegedly due to the exercise.
In a letter dated January 3, Mamata made strong objections against the process of holding SIR hearings where she alleged electors were summoned without giving any specific reasons, subjecting them to "needless anxiety and harassment."
"Even elderly, infirm, and seriously ill citizens are not being spared. Many electors are being compelled to travel distances of 20-25 kilometres to attend hearings, which have inexplicably been centralised rather than decentralised. This has caused severe hardship to ordinary citizens," she stated.
She also flagged multiple deaths, including suicides of Booth Level Officers (BLO), allegedly due to workload, stress and anxiety related to the SIR exercise.
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.
(With inputs from PTI)