Man falls ill after SIR hearing, dies within four days; family blames stress

January 1, 2026

Swarup Nagar: A tragic incident has unfolded in the Swarupnagar area of ​​West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. 60-year-old Sultan Sardar died on Thursday. The family says he suffered severe mental stress after attending the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing on December 27th.

Sultan Sardar, a resident of Swarupada village, was questioned several times during the hearing, citing discrepancies in his identity documents. After returning home, he became extremely anxious and his health deteriorated. He eventually suffered a heart attack and died.

Had been living in the area for a long time, but there were discrepancies in the documents

According to the family, Sultan had been living in the area for years, but when the last SIR process was conducted in 2002, he was out of the state for work, which prevented his name from being included in the voter list at that time.

Recently, he received a notice to appear at the Swarupnagar BDO office for document verification. His wife, Dilwara Bibi, said –

“At the hearing, he was told that there were many errors in the documents. He came home very upset. He repeatedly said, ‘Where should I go at this age? How can I leave my family and children?’”

Ever since the hearing, he had been experiencing anxiety and stress, which led to his health deteriorating.

Family’s allegation—SIR process spreads fear

Sultan’s son, Usman, alleged that the SIR process had instilled fear in his father.

He said, “My father died because of fear of this SIR. This process must be stopped immediately, or none of us will survive.”

The incident has been reported to the police, and a preliminary investigation is underway. However, no formal complaint has yet been filed at the Swarupnagar police station.

This incident raises questions about the mental pressure faced by elderly and economically vulnerable citizens during the voter verification process.