N Bengal border resident attempts suicide, family blames ‘SIR panic’
Times of India | 30 October 2025Khairul Sheikh, his family said, was scared that he might be struck off the electoral rolls because of a name mismatch in his voter card and Aadhaar. A resident of Burirhat in Dinhata, Khairul is battling for life at a Cooch Behar hospital. Doctors said his condition is "serious but stable".
The Cooch Behar incident came a day after Pradeep Kar ended his life in Panihati, on the northern fringes of Kolkata. Kar's family said the 57-year-old had left behind a note that read "NRC is responsible for my death".
Police Commissioner Murlidhar Sharma, who visited Kar's home, said a diary containing a note that said ‘NRC is responsible for my death' had been recovered. "The family told us he was deeply disturbed and fearful about NRC," Sharma said.
Speaking on the Cooch Behar incident, police superintendent Sandeep Karra said Khairul's name appears as ‘Khayru Sheikh' on his EPIC. "We have learned he was worried about this for several days and became very disturbed after SIR was announced," he said.
Dinhata's SDPO Dhiman Mitra said villagers had reported that Khairul attempted suicide. "We are investigating the incident," he added.
Residents of former Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian territory became Indian citizens after the 2015 exchange of enclaves between the two neighbouring countries. Over 14,000 residents of 51 enclaves who became Indian citizens after the exchange are now on tenterhooks because they do not have additional documents to prove their citizenship.
Trinamool Congress, which accused the Centre of "spreading fear for political gain" after Kar's death, latched onto the Cooch Behar suicide attempt.
CM Mamata Banerjee did not directly mention SIR or the Cooch Behar incident, but said, "My only wish is to see the country and the state stay well. I do not want any divide and rule. The democratic rights of every individual must remain intact. All genuine voters should exercise their rights. We have to strengthen our democracy and keep its pillars strong. The Constitution has laid down equal rights for all. This freedom has come after immense sacrifice of our freedom fighters, it is for us to ensure that every citizen's rights are secured."
Party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who visited Kar's Panihati home on Wednesday, was more direct. "I request you with folded hands, do not fear, we are still alive.
As long as Mamata Banerjee's govt is here, we won't allow this. Families who have been here for 30, 40, 50 years, whose parents and grandparents have lived here for generations, you (BJP) cannot label them as Bangladeshis. If they remove even one genuine voter from the lists, we will gherao the EC office with one lakh people," he said.
Trinamool's Cooch Behar functionary Partha Pratim Ray said SIR rollout has created a sense of panic among former enclave residents, who are apprehensive that they might turn stateless in the absence of additional documents to prove citizenship. The EC has said it will check data of enclave residents who became Indian citizens in 2015.
