A momo seller in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday after discovering that his name had been removed from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, officials and family members said.

The deceased has been identified as Gouranga De, a resident of Ward No. 11 in Jalpaiguri. He lived in a rented house with his family and is survived by his wife and son.

Family says he had voted for decades

According to family members, Gouranga De had been voting for nearly 40 years. However, during the recent revision of the electoral rolls, his name was reportedly missing from the 2002 voter list, which led to further scrutiny.

He was called for a hearing as part of the SIR process and was asked to submit supporting documents. Family members said he provided all the information and papers that were available with him.

Despite this, when the final voter list was published on February 27, his name was reportedly marked as “deleted”.

Removal from voter list caused distress

Local residents and family members said the removal of his name from the electoral rolls left him deeply distressed.

His landlord said Gouranga had been repeatedly expressing concern over the issue.
“He was worried ever since his name was removed. He kept asking what would happen to him. The body was recovered this morning. Now what will happen to this family?” the landlord said.

Gouranga’s wife told local reporters that he struggled to provide additional documents during the verification process.

“He had no parents or grandparents, so he could not give further details. The papers we had were submitted during the SIR hearing, but still his name was removed from the list. Then today this incident happened,” she said.

Local authorities respond

After learning about the incident, Jalpaiguri Municipality Chairman Saikat Chatterjee visited the spot. He said Gouranga had earlier approached him seeking help after his name was omitted from the voter list.

Chatterjee said he had assisted him in submitting Form 6 online, which is used for inclusion of names in the electoral roll.

“It is a very sad incident. SIR is taking people’s lives. It is taking away democratic rights. The Election Commission and the central government must take responsibility for this,” Chatterjee said.

Police begin investigation

Police recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem examination. Authorities have registered a case and begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The tragedy has sparked concern among local residents about the emotional impact that administrative decisions and identity verification processes can have on vulnerable individuals and families.