The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal took a tragic turn on Monday as a young man allegedly committed suicide after failing to find his name in the recently released supplementary voter lists. Despite attending multiple hearings and submitting all necessary documents, the omission of his name triggered a fatal panic over the fear of losing citizenship.

The victim’s family revealed that the youth had been under immense psychological pressure since the Election Commission marked millions of voters as “under adjudication.” Upon checking the third supplementary list released late Sunday night, he realized his name was still missing. “He was terrified that being off the list meant he would be declared a non-citizen and deported,” a relative stated, blaming the bureaucratic process for the extreme anxiety.

Reports suggest that while approximately 60 lakh names were initially placed under scrutiny in West Bengal, the Election Commission has only managed to clear about 22 lakh names across the first three supplementary lists. Around 15 lakh cases remain stuck due to “missing e-signatures” and technical glitches in the adjudication software. This administrative delay has fostered a climate of dread across the state, with many comparing the SIR process to a “backdoor NRC.” As the state prepares for the 2026 Assembly Elections, this tragedy has sparked a fresh political slugfest over administrative transparency and the mental toll of electoral verification on ordinary citizens.