A 43-year-old homemaker from Malda district died after allegedly consuming pesticide upon discovering that her name had been placed under the "under adjudication" category in the preliminary "final" electoral roll published by the Election Commission, triggering protests and intensifying the political row over the voter list revision in West Bengal.
The deceased, Hazera Bibi, was a resident of Shitalpur village in Harishchandrapur II block of Malda district.
According to her family, she consumed poison on Sunday after learning that her voter status had not been cleared despite submitting the required documents during the verification process. She was admitted to Malda Medical College and Hospital, where she died on Monday evening.
"After discovering that her name was still under adjudication, she broke down and consumed poison," a relative alleged, The Telegraphreported.
Her death comes amid reports that as many as three persons whose names were placed under the shadow of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) adjudication died by suicide within 48 hours in the state. Another person died following health complications, with his family blaming SIR-related anxiety for the death.
Among them was Rafique Ali Gazi, a 44-year-old van driver from Magrahat, who allegedly hanged himself on Tuesday night after discovering that his name had been marked as "under adjudication" in the final voter list published last Saturday.
Rafique's wife, Amina Bibi, lodged a written complaint at the Usti police station against the Election Commission. Police have initiated an investigation into the incident. Local Trinamool Congress workers staged a protest with the body and blocked the Usti-Shirakol Road for some time on Wednesday.
"He (Gazi) was initially asked to submit his papers (by the Election Commission)," his wife said to Indian Express, referring to the notices sent to people by the EC after the first phase of the SIR in the state.
"When he had received the notice, he fell on his feet. He filled the forms properly and submitted them. When the voter list came out, he found that there was 'under scrutiny' stamp marked next to his name in the list. Since then, he has been suffering from anxiety, fearing that he will lose voting rights and facing administrative complications. So, he killed himself," his wife said.
"This should not happen with anyone. The government should ensure that all paper works are correct," she added.
Another death was reported from Jalpaiguri, where 62-year-old Gourango De died by suicide on Tuesday morning. His family claimed that he took the extreme step due to severe anxiety related to the SIR process.
According to the family, De had voted for more than 40 years, but for some reason his name did not appear in the 2002 voter list. He attended hearings and submitted all related information, but his name was placed under adjudication in the final 2026 SIR list.
De's body was found hanging in the bathroom of his house, and police took the body for an autopsy. His family said that he had applied online for re-registering his name on Monday.
In another incident, Krishna Pal (65), a resident of Debra, died after falling ill shortly after learning that his name and that of his son Dipanjan had been deleted from the SIR voter list.
According to his family, Krishna Pal was shocked by the development and felt unwell. He was taken to the Debra Superspecialty Hospital on Monday but died while being taken to Midnapore Medical College.
Debra MLA Humayun Kabir met the family on Wednesday and said he would speak to the Block Development Officer (BDO) about the issue. Kabir blamed the Election Commission for the death.
The death of Hazera Bibi in Malda had already sparked anger among residents in the area and renewed criticism of the electoral roll revision process, which has reportedly placed millions of voters under the "under adjudication" category across the state.
On Tuesday morning, nearly 100 residents of Salalpur village in Tulshihata panchayat under Harishchandrapur I block staged a protest in front of the residence of Munabbar Hossain, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of booth number 86 in the Harishchandrapur Assembly constituency.
Protesters held placards reading "Boycott Assembly Elections" and alleged that a large number of voters from their booth had been placed under scrutiny.
"We have submitted all the required documents during the hearings and were assured they were sufficient. Yet our names have again been marked under adjudication," one protester alleged.
According to the demonstrators, as many as 540 out of 1,291 voters in their booth have been placed in the pending category, raising fears that many residents could be excluded from the electoral rolls if the cases are not resolved.
The protesters warned that they would boycott the upcoming Assembly elections if their grievances were not addressed.
In a surprising development, even the BLO himself claimed that his name had been placed under adjudication.
"I submitted all required documents to the BDO as per EC instructions. However, all those who were summoned for hearings have been marked under adjudication in the final electoral roll," he said.
There are over 60 lakh names in the adjudication category in West Bengal. The cases are currently being looked into by judicial officials.
Data shared by the Commission shows that the highest number of cases pending adjudication are concentrated in Murshidabad (11,01,145), Malda (8,28,127), South 24 Parganas (5,22,042), North 24 Parganas (5,91,252), Howrah (2,89,714), and Uttar Dinajpur (4,80,341). Murshidabad, Malda, and the 24 Parganas districts have significant Muslim populations.
The controversy has widened as several prominent figures across the state, including bureaucrats, politicians, and even election officials, have reportedly found their names placed under the same category. Among them is Nandini Chakravorty, West Bengal's first woman Chief Secretary and a 1994-batch IAS officer.
Officials from the office of the District Election Officer for Kolkata South were reportedly deputed to her residence to conduct a hearing after her name appeared under adjudication.
Despite the high-level intervention, her case too remains pending.
Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh, who is currently in Australia representing India, has also been listed as "under adjudication."
In a clarification, the Election Commission stated that although a relative attended the hearing and submitted documents on her behalf, the local Assistant Electoral Registration Officer or Electoral Registration Officer had not disposed of the case.
The controversy has also reached the state's political leadership. The names of at least two Trinamool Congress ministers, Shashi Panja and Mohammad Ghulam Rabbani, have been marked under adjudication in the draft voter list.
Mohammad Dual Ali, a Kargil veteran who had received injuries in combat, was also brought "under adjudication" despite providing documents from the Indian Army.
Rabbani strongly criticised the move in a statement on social media, alleging interference by the Centre.
"In an unprecedented, ugly move by the Election Commission in collusion with their Delhi masters, my voter ID has been moved 'under adjudication'. I have contested West Bengal Assembly elections in 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2021, and served as a minister for two terms," Rabbani told Maktoob.
"My late father & ancestors were Indian citizens & I, at the age of 56 years, have been regularly voting in WB since completing my education from AMU in the early 90s", he added.
He said, "This cruel, heartless farce, engineered by the Bhartiya Janata Party and their puppet Election Commission, has now snuffed out over 160 innocent lives; BLOs crushed under impossible deadlines, ordinary citizens driven to despair by endless queues and humiliating scrutiny. How much more blood do these vultures crave? How many more deaths will satisfy their thirst for disenfranchising Bengal?", said Rabbani.
The issue has also touched the judiciary. TMC supporters recently circulated a screenshot showing the name of 86-year-old Baikuntha Bagchi, reportedly the uncle of Supreme Court judge Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who is currently presiding over cases related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, listed in the voter records.
Reports also noted that the judge's name was misspelt in the Bengali version of the electoral list.
Mohammad Selim, a former MLA from Baduria and a two-time Panchayat Pradhan, also received a notice for a hearing and later found his status marked under adjudication despite submitting documents.
Meanwhile, Tajmul Hossain, Minister of State from Malda, alleged that the Election Commission's actions had created panic among voters.
"The irresponsibility of the EC has led to this tragic death. A large number of voters have been arbitrarily placed under adjudication, creating widespread fear," Hossain said while visiting the victim's home.
The controversy has triggered statewide political protests. Left parties held demonstrations over the issue on Monday and Tuesday, accusing the Election Commission of creating confusion and fear among voters.
"From the Supreme Court to the BDO office, protests are ongoing. People are uniting against this planned attempt to remove names and snatch away citizens' rights."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also expected to stage a sit-in protest in Kolkata tomorrow, raising the stakes in the ongoing confrontation between the state government and the Election Commission over the voter verification process.