The family of a 63-year-old man who was found dead in his Kolkata residence Sunday alleged that he died by suicide since he was living in fear of being deported to Bangladesh under the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), police said.
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A suicide note purportedly written by the victim, Dilip Kumar Saha, an Indian citizen, was found from the spot, police said.
Saha, who reportedly moved to Kolkata from Nawabganj in Dhaka in 1972, was found hanging in his room in the Anandapally West area of Regent Park.
Police said Saha’s wife Arati Saha, and another relative broke into the room after he did not respond to their repeated calls.
He was declared dead on arrival at a hospital.
Arati claimed that her husband was under mental stress as he feared being sent to a detention camp and eventually deported to Bangladesh even as he possessed valid voter ID and other documents.
Saha worked as a non-teaching staffer at a private school in Dhakuria in south Kolkata.
The matter is under investigation, police said.
Meanwhile, local TMC MLA and Power Minister Arup Biswas, who visited the family, said, “This is what the fear of being thrown out of the country could do to a man. What they (Centre) have started in the name of the SIR shows their anti-people attitude, and the result is in front of you.”
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Later in the day, the TMC held a press meet, with party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh holding the BJP-led Centre responsible for Saha’s death.
Ghosh accused the Centre of creating “an atmosphere of terror” that is causing “valid Indians” to fear for their lives, especially those who may struggle to produce their parents’ documents.
Education Minister Bratya Basu also condemned the incident, calling the BJP’s “insulting and harassing” notices to Hindu Bengalis regarding the NRC.
“The way in which the BJP has been sending NRC notices to Hindu Bengalis, is to insult and harass them. Not being able to tolerate this, Dilip Kumar Saha has ended his life. His wife, Aarti has said this. Migrant workers are being called infiltrators. In Pune, a man who fought in the Kargil war was called the same,” Basu said.
-with PTI inputs