A 28-year-old daily wage labourer allegedly died by suicide at his house in Howrah’s Uluberia on Tuesday, said the police. His family claimed that he was “terrified of SIR” and “killed himself out of fear.”

The police identified the victim as Zahir Mal, a resident of Khalisani Gram Panchayat in Uluberia East Assembly Constituency. No suicide note has been recovered, said the police.

Following Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s directions, State Works and Public Health Engineering Minister Pulak Roy met the victim’s family members.

According to police, “the worker was found hanging at his house on Tuesday morning.” Mal’s wife, Regina Bibi, said “He was terrified of SIR. He always said that he would be sent to Bangladesh. This fear had been working in his mind for the last few days. He killed himself out of fear.”

Meanwhile, minister Pulak Roy who met the family members of the worker said that the “party stands by this family”.

“An atmosphere of fear has been created in the state. It is being made to believe that speaking Bengali means being Bangladeshi. I would like to tell the Central government to stop the politics of death. Upon receiving the news of this incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee offered their support and said that they stand by the family”.

Hitting out at the TMC, Union Minister and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar said that the party “is responsible for such incidents”. “They are misleading the common people. People are unnecessarily scared. The Mamata Banerjee-Abhishek Banerjee party is trying to fulfill its political interests…” he said. Earlier, three such incidents were reportedly linked to the “panic over SIR”.

Farmer consumes poison in Murshidabad

A 45-year-old farmer allegedly consumed pesticide while working in his field in Murshidabad district’s Kandi area, said police, adding he had been “anxious” after he found that his name was missing from the 2002 voter list.

The police identified the victim as Mahul Sheikh.

After getting information, a police team reached the spot. He was first taken to Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital and later to Berhampore Medical College and Hospital, where he died en route, police said.

“He had been anxious after discovering that his name was missing from the 2002 voter list and feared potential consequences under the SIR initiative,” a senior police officer said, adding that the body had been sent for post-mortem examination. With PTI inputs