Panic over voter list verification (SIR) claimed another life in West Bengal on Thursday. Jibankrishna Biswas (68), a resident of Bogula in Hanskhali, died after collapsing while standing in a long queue at the Ranaghat SDO office. The elderly man had traveled to the tribunal to appeal for the restoration of his and his daughter’s names, which were missing from the updated voter list.

According to his family, Jibankrishna had been under immense psychological pressure since discovering the deletion of their names. Despite his other children working as migrant laborers in other states, he had come to the office with his daughters to submit necessary documents. Witnesses say he suddenly fainted while waiting for his turn. He was rushed to the Ranaghat Sub-divisional Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

“My father’s death is a result of toxic politics and the fear instilled in ordinary citizens,” his daughter Champu Biswas lamented. This incident has reignited the debate over the mental and physical toll the verification process is taking on senior citizens, marking yet another tragic casualty linked to document-related anxiety in the state.