Bengal man's death over 'fear for NRC': Abetment of suicide case filed

An abetment of suicide case has been filed at Khardah Police Station in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district in connection with the death of 57-year-old Pradeep Kar, who allegedly killed himself and left a note blaming anxiety over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and SIR for his decision.

Kar's body was found hanging in his room on Tuesday, a day after the Election Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state ''The deceased's family has lodged a written complaint at Khardah Police Station, alleging abetment of suicide against unknown persons,'' a senior police officer said.

According to police, Kar's body was recovered from his Agarpara apartment on Tuesday morning. A suicide note, claimed to be of Kar, has gone viral on social media. However, PTI could not independently verify its authenticity.

The suicide note, which has not been independently verified, contains Kar's name, address, and references to NRC. However, the handwriting is reportedly unclear, and the police have not officially confirmed its contents.

A diary was found in the room, and one of its pages is believed to contain a suicide note referring to NRC, the police sources said.

The handwriting on the note, however, is now under forensic examination to verify its authenticity, they said. After dinner on Monday night, he went to bed in his room and did not respond to repeated calls the next morning. When the door remained locked from inside, his family members alerted neighbours and later informed the police, who broke open the door and found his body hanging, the police sources said.

The sister-in-law of the deceased filed the complaint alleging that Kar was ''mentally disturbed'' after the announcement of the voter list revision, which he reportedly linked to the NRC. Police said the cause of the suicide is yet to be determined.

His death has triggered a fresh political storm in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress blaming the Centre's National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise for creating ''panic and fear'' among citizens, while the BJP has questioned the authenticity of a purported suicide note that mentions NRC and has gone viral on social media.

The Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP-led central government of ''spreading fear'' over NRC in Bengal. ''This is what happens when the BJP plays politics of fear. The NRC has already killed people in Assam, and now its ghost is haunting Bengal,'' a senior TMC leader said.

The BJP, however, dismissed the allegations, terming the suicide note ''suspicious''.

''Some people are trying to politicise a personal tragedy. We have serious doubts whether the suicide note is genuine, given that Kar reportedly studied till Class 3 and did not have fingers on four of his right-hand digits,'' BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.

He claimed that there is no evidence that he could write with his left hand. ''Let there be a forensic probe by a central lab under the supervision of the court. The truth will come out,'' said the leader of the opposition in the assembly.