Howrah: A 62-year-old man, Madan Ghosh, died of a cerebral attack after he fainted out of fear following an SIR hearing in Liluah, said police.
The Howrah Trinamool Congress and his family alleged that he was harassed about various documents during the hearing, which made him anxious. He became very distressed during the interrogation.
While trying to make a photocopy of a document near the Bally-Jagachha BDO office in Domjur, Madan fainted and injured his head. Police and a relative took him to Howrah District Hospital, where he died within an hour of treatment.
Trinamool Congress leader Masood Guddu Khan stated that Madan's family originally came from Bangladesh and settled in Liluah, India, after the partition. Madan was born at home, so he did not have a birth certificate, but he had other documents, including his name in the 2002 voter list. He had voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, yet his name was not on the draft list.
His family claimed he was repeatedly pressured to provide a birth certificate during the hearing, and it was stated that without it, his name would be removed from the final voter list. This caused him to panic and sweat. He was then asked to provide a school certificate, and while on his way to make a photocopy of another certificate, he fainted. Madan's relative, Hari Prasad Ghosh, claimed that intense fear caused the cerebral attack, and he was otherwise healthy.
Minister Arup Roy cited another instance where a 93-year-old woman was forced to climb stairs for a hearing in the cold. He blamed the EC for such deaths. Attempts to contact Howrah DM and returning officer P. Deepa Priya were unsuccessful.