‘SIR suicide’ in North Dinajpur after hearing, 65-year-old hangs himself outside house
Telegraph | 9 January 2026
A 65-year-old resident of Raiganj, North Dinajpur district, was found hanging from a tree near his house on Thursday morning.
His family members called it suicide, blaming his mental stress because of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
Sources said deceased Bablu Pal from Subhashganj-Palpara, a locality under the Raiganj police station limits, went out of his home on Thursday morning and did not return.
Pal’s family members started searching for him. Soon, his body was found hanging from a nearby mango tree. The police were informed. A team reached the spot and recovered the body.
Pal did not have his name on the 2002 voter list — the Election Commission of India’s benchmark for the current exercise — and had attended a hearing on January 6, his wife Nanibala said. “He was panicky over the SIR and whether his name would be there in the final list. But we never thought he would take such a drastic step. We think he took his own life out of panic,” Nanibala said.
“He attended the hearing and submitted all necessary documents, but was extremely tense,” said Ratan, the deceased’s brother.
As the news spread, Krishna Kalyani, the Trinamool MLA of Raiganj, met the bereaved family in the afternoon.
“It is an unfortunate incident, and we stand with the family. The family members have specifically said that he took the step out of his anxiety over the SIR. The police should probe the case and find out the truth,” Kalyani said.
Police sources said they recovered a note from the deceased’s body, but did not reveal its details.