An 82-year-old man died after allegedly jumping in front of a running train in West Bengal’s Purulia district on Monday, days before he was scheduled to appear for a hearing linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Durjan Majhi, a resident of the district. According to his family, Majhi had been under severe mental distress after discovering that his name was missing from the draft voter list published on December 16.
Name missing from draft voter list
Majhi’s son, Kanai, a daily wage labourer, said his father’s name had appeared in the 2002 electoral roll but was omitted from the latest draft list despite submission of the SIR enumeration form.
“My father had submitted all the required documents, but his name was still not included. He received a notice on December 25 asking him to appear for a hearing at the Para Block Development Officer’s office,” Kanai said.
He added that his father had been anxious and worried since receiving the notice, fearing he might permanently lose his voting rights.
Incident before scheduled hearing
Police said the incident occurred before Majhi could appear for the hearing. He was scheduled to present his case at the Para BDO office as part of the verification process under SIR.
Officials have launched an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death, while railway authorities confirmed that the elderly man was crushed by a passing train.
Political reactions and allegations
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday described deaths allegedly linked to the SIR process as “torture for poor people” and claimed that around 60 people had lost their lives due to stress caused by the exercise.
She termed the revision process a “huge scam” and alleged the misuse of artificial intelligence in voter verification.
More than 58 lakh names were removed from the draft rolls published on December 16, following the initial phase of SIR. Out of the state’s 7.6 crore voters, the Election Commission of India has flagged around 1.66 crore voters for further verification, raising questions about the “genuineness” of their records.
Relief order for elderly voters
Amid growing concerns, the Election Commission on Monday issued an order stating that voters aged 85 years and above, persons with disabilities, or those who are seriously ill may be exempted from personal hearings if a specific request is made by them or on their behalf.
The incident has intensified the debate around the SIR process and its impact on elderly and vulnerable citizens.