95-year-old allegedly commits suicide in Birbhum fearing SIR
The Statesman | 1 November 2025
Amid claims of suicide in Panihati, North 24-Parganas, allegedly over fears of implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list, another elderly person, aged around 95, has reportedly taken his own life in Ilambazar, Birbhum, today.
No suicide note has been recovered from the spot, according to Illambazar police station.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reacted sharply to the incident on her official X handle, declaring that she would “fight against SIR till the last drop of her blood.”
Amandeep, superintendent of police, Birbhum, said, “A 95-year-old person, Khitish Majumdar, a resident of West Midnapore district, has committed suicide at his daughter’s house in the Illambazar police station area. The family has claimed that he ended his life out of fear of the SIR process, as his name was not included in the 2002 voter list. However, no formal complaint has been lodged with the local police so far.”
Originally from the Kotwali police station area of West Midnapore, Mr Majumdar had been staying with his daughter at School Bagan, Subhaspally in Illambazar for the past five months.
His granddaughter Nirmala Majumdar alleged that he had been suffering from depression in recent days, fearing he might be sent back to Bangladesh because his name was missing from the 2002 voters’ list.
“He faced a lot of torture in Bangladesh before migrating to West Bengal many decades ago. Lately, he was terrified that at this old age he might be pushed back again. He had heard that BLOs would visit our house next month for document verification and was extremely anxious,” she said.
His body was found hanging from the ceiling of his daughter’s bedroom today.
In her post on X, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote: “We are witnessing the tragic consequences of the BJP’s politics of fear, division and hate. Within 72 hours of the election commission’s announcement of the SIR exercise in Bengal — an exercise bulldozed through at the BJP’s behest — one avoidable tragedy after another has occurred.”
“On 27 October, 57-year-old Pradeep Kar of Panihati, Khardaha, died by suicide, leaving a note that read, ‘NRC is responsible for my death.’ On 28 October, a 63-year-old man from Dinhata, Cooch Behar, attempted to take his life, terrified of harassment under the SIR process. And today, 95-year-old Khitish Majumdar from Kotwali, Paschim Medinipur, living with his daughter in Illambazar, Birbhum, ended his life gripped by the fear that he and his family might be dispossessed of their land.
“Who will answer for these avoidable, politically inflicted tragedies? Will the Home Minister accept responsibility? Will the BJP and its allies, under whose watch this fear psychosis has spread, find the courage to speak out?”
So far, the Birbhum district Trinamul Congress has not made any official statement on the matter.