Families Link Deaths of 2 Elderly of Basirhat and Bankura to SIR

MP, 2 Jan 2026, KOLKATA: At the very start of the New Year, fears associated with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal reportedly contributed to the deaths of two elderly residents — one from Basirhat in North 24-Parganas and another from Bankura district.

In Basirhat’s Swarupnagar area, 60-year-old Sultan Sardar, a migrant worker whose name was not listed in the 2002 voter rolls, was summoned for a SIR hearing on December 27. Sardar’s family members, including his son, had their names listed in the 2002 voter roll. Despite attending the hearing at the Block Development Officer’s office, the anxiety over potential consequences left him stressed and bedridden, his family claimed.

According to the family, he repeatedly expressed fear about the possibility of having to leave his children behind and eventually died at home from what relatives described as tension-related health issues.

Similarly, in Bankura’s Bishnupur block, 65-year-old Rahima Bibi, whose name also did not appear in electoral records despite possessing valid voter and Aadhaar cards, was scheduled for a SIR hearing on January 2. The fear of being unable to produce the required documents, coupled with circulating rumours about detention camps and pushback, intensified her distress, her family said. Locals reported that she suffered a fatal heart attack amid growing panic over the process.

These incidents have raised concerns over the impact of the SIR process on the elderly and vulnerable populations in Bengal, particularly as rumours and fear about the procedure spread in local communities.