On October 28, a 57-year-old man, identified as Pradip Kar, was found hanging in his home in Mahajati Nagar, Agarpara, North 24 Parganas. His body was discovered by family members on Monday morning.
His family said he had dinner the previous night and went to sleep as usual. The next morning, he was discovered dead in his room. A diary recovered from the scene contained a suicide note that “NRC is responsible for my death.”
Pradip had been deeply disturbed by NRC-related reports
According to Dainik Bhaskar, Barrackpore Police Commissioner Murlidhar Sharma confirmed that the note was written in Bengali and made specific reference to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“The family told us that Pradip had been deeply disturbed by NRC-related reports. After the announcement of the SIR on Monday, he appeared restless, but his family thought he was unwell. He had dinner and went to bed as usual, but did not respond the next morning,” Sharma said.
The officer added that there was no sign of foul play. The body was sent for post-mortem examination, and an investigation is underway, as reported
Kar’s elder sister told reporters, “My brother was very scared about the implementation of the NRC. He used to tell us that he would be taken away in the name of NRC” as per a report in the New Indian Express reported.
SIR rollout triggers fresh anxiety
The suicide came barely 24 hours after the Election Commission announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories, including West Bengal. The exercise, which begins enumeration immediately, was meant to simplify document verification after widespread anxiety during Bihar’s earlier SIR.
However, in Bengal—where fears of an NRC-like process have periodically surfaced—the announcement appears to have reignited old apprehensions.
Mamata Banerjee blames BJP’s “politics of fear”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sharply criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of exploiting the contentious issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for political gain, which she termed the “politics of fear.”
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), she said “57-year-old Pradeep Kar from 4 Mahajyoti Nagar, Panihati, Khardaha (Ward No. 9) has taken his own life, leaving behind a note that says, “NRC is responsible for my death.” What greater indictment can there be of the BJP’s politics of fear and division? It shakes me to the very core to imagine how, for years, BJP has tormented innocent citizens with the threat of NRC, spreading lies, stoking panic and weaponising insecurity for votes. They have turned constitutional democracy into a draconian law-regime, where people are made to doubt their own right to exist. This tragic death is the direct consequence of BJP’s venomous propaganda. Those who sit in Delhi and preach nationalism have pushed ordinary Indians to such despair that they are dying in their own land, fearing they will be declared ‘FOREIGNERS’”
“Bengal will resist, Bengal will protect, Bengal will prevail: Mamta Banerjee
Banerjee issued a demand for the Central Government to “stop this heartless game once and for all,” demonstrating her government’s opposed stance against the implementation of the NRC in the state.
She declared, “Bengal will never allow NRC, and never allow anyone to strip our people of their dignity or belonging.” She said that the soil of Bengal belongs to “Maa, Mati, Manush” (Mother, Motherland, People), not to those “who thrive on hate.”
“In a final, defiant message directed at the central leadership” she proclaimed,
She further added that “Let the Delhi Zamindars hear this loud and clear: Bengal will resist, Bengal will protect and Bengal will prevail.”
57-year-old Pradeep Kar from 4 Mahajyoti Nagar, Panihati, Khardaha (Ward No. 9) has taken his own life, leaving behind a note that says, “NRC is responsible for my death.” What greater indictment can there be of the BJP’s politics of fear and division?
It shakes me to the very…
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 28, 2025
BJP calls CM’s remarks “lies and theatrics”
Within hours, BJP leaders hit back, accusing Mamata Banerjee of “politicising a personal tragedy.”
BJP IT cell Chief Amit Malviya wrote on X, “The tragic death of Pradeep Kar must be investigated thoroughly — the cause of suicide can and must be determined only by the law and investigating agencies, not through political rhetoric.”
He dismissed Banerjee’s charge, saying, “Let’s also get the facts right — there is NO NRC anywhere in the country. Mamata Banerjee is lying and deliberately spreading panic to stoke fear among people for political gain.”
Malviya further alleged that it was the Trinamool Congress, not the BJP that had historically “weaponised fear” for electoral purposes.
“The same fear was used to loot, assault, and suppress voices, as seen in Sandeshkhali and during the riots in Malda and Murshidabad,” he wrote, claiming that the TMC’s narrative sought to protect “illegal infiltrators” who formed its “vote bank.”
He concluded, “Truth and accountability will prevail — not fear mongering.”
The tragic death of Pradeep Kar must be investigated thoroughly — the cause of suicide can and must be determined only by the law and investigating agencies, not through political rhetoric.
Let’s also get the facts right — there is NO NRC anywhere in the country. Mamata Banerjee… https://t.co/uKZLQlUxI6
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 28, 2025
Learn Bengali before commenting, says Abhishek Banerjee
Responding to Malviya’s remarks, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was caustic. “Amit Malviya has no understanding of the Bengali language. The suicide note is written in Bangla. Let him learn the language first and then he can make his comments,” he said, as reported in the Indian Express.
Later, Abhishek demanded criminal accountability for the incident. “An FIR should be filed against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior official Gyanesh Kumar for creating the panic that led to this death. The political answer to this death will come through the ballot,” he declared.
Kolkata youth’s death over CAA fear mirrors citizenship anxiety
According to Sabrang India, in a similar incident earlier this year, 31-year-old Debashish Sengupta from Kolkata reportedly took his own life, allegedly driven by panic over the recently notified Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) Rules, 2019. Sengupta, who was visiting his maternal grandparents in Subhashgram, South 24 Parganas, was found hanging on the night of March 20, 2024. His family claimed he had been under immense anxiety that his ailing father — a migrant from Bangladesh — would be denied citizenship for lacking proper documents.
Related:
ECI’s announced nationwide SIR, will cover 12 States and UTs with a reduced documentary burden
Kolkata man commits suicide, family claims CAA rules led him to it
ECI’s nationwide SIR plan: a ‘unified’ push, applied differentially across states