57-yr-old’s suicide sparks violence at SIR hearing centre
Times of India | 23 January 2026
Malda: Violence broke out in North Dinajpur's Itahar on Thursday after a 57-year-old man died by suicide in the area allegedly over anxieties his family attributed to his wife receiving a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing notice. The hearing centre was ransacked, the assistant electoral registration officer (AERO) assaulted and the neighbouring national highway was blocked until police brought the situation under control. Trinamool MLA Mosarraf Hossain blamed EC and BJP for the suicide while leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari attributed the violence to the state govt's failure in providing security.
Chandu Sarkar, 57, from Muralipukur village under Itahar police station, was upset ever since his wife Zinnatur Khatun received notice for a hearing, his family said. Khatun reportedly had a missing link and her hearing was scheduled on Thursday. Chandu's brother Mukleshur Sarkar said, "My brother was very anxious about the fate of his family and had stopped speaking over the past few days." On Thursday morning, Chandu left home and hung himself to death from a tree. Neighbours found his body and raised an alarm.
As news spread, a group of angry villagers rushed to Itahar High School where hearings as well as classes were going on. They barged into the room and ransacked the office. The woman AERO was assaulted and her phone snatched. Hearings stopped for two to three hours until a large police contingent arrived at the scene.
Trinamool workers, led by MLA Mosarraf Hossain, blocked NH-12. "This is what EC and BJP want. How many deaths will satisfy them?" he said. Adhikari, in a post on X, said, "Yet another blatant display of lawlessness under TMC regime. Today, during the SIR hearing at Itahar High School, a violent mob of miscreants unleashed vandalism, destroying property and disrupting proceedings."
"The police and administration stood as mute spectators, allowing these goons to run amok unobstructed. I urge the Election Commission of India to immediately intervene and take strongest possible action against complicit police officers and administrative officials who failed in their duty," he added.