Bengal Man Dies By Suicide Over NRC Fears: Political Row Between TMC and BJP Intensifies

Police said a diary recovered from Kar's room contained several notes related to NRC.

Representational

Kolkata:

A 57-year-old man in West Bengal committed suicide on Tuesday, attributing his death to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). This incident has sparked a heated political controversy between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Police reports indicate that Pradeep Kar, a trader, was discovered hanging from the ceiling of his second-floor apartment at the Uma Apartment complex in Mahajyati Nagar under Khardah Municipality.

Authorities recovered a diary from his room containing multiple notes about NRC. One page specifically stated: "NRC is responsible for my death."

Barrackpore Police Commissioner Muralidhar explained that officers responded to the scene and discovered the suicide note in a diary beside Kar's body.

After speaking with family members and friends, Muralidhar noted that Kar had been distressed about NRC-related news.

"The SIR (Special Intensive Revision) was announced yesterday (Monday). His family reported that he became increasingly anxious afterward. They initially thought he was feeling unwell. Following dinner, he retired to his room. In the morning, when his brother's wife called him repeatedly without response, family members and neighbors entered the residence and found Pradeep's body hanging. We have recovered the body and sent it for autopsy. Investigation is currently underway," he stated.

The commissioner further mentioned that while Kar was born in India, information from the family suggested his father may have originated from Madhya Pradesh.

Kar's suicide has ignited significant political tension in West Bengal.

Chief Minister and TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP in a post on X: "57-year-old Pradeep Kar from 4 Mahajyati 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?"

She further stated, "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.'"

A day earlier, Banerjee's nephew and TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee also condemned the BJP, saying, "You projected yourselves as the protectors of Hindus. Today a man has died in Khardha, named Pradeep Kar. How many BJP leaders have asked? And they say that Mamata Banerjee does vote bank politics? The first people to go to their house and lend a hand of support were from Trinamool."

"How much blood do you want on your hands? They are so proud that they don't care about other people's lives," he added.

Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar dismissed the allegations from TMC as completely unfounded.

"The allegation raised in this case is completely baseless. If anything happens in Bengal, it is being diverted to NRC. When there is no NRC, then why are people afraid of it?" Sarkar stated during a press conference.