Kolkata, Oct 30 (IANS) The suicide note of Pradeep Kar, a 57-year-old resident of Panihati in North 24 Parganas district who allegedly died by suicide reportedly out of fear of a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in West Bengal, has been sent for forensic examination, police said on Thursday.

Officials of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred, said the step was taken to confirm whether the note was indeed written by the deceased.

“The decision to send the suicide note for forensic analysis was taken to verify its authenticity,” said an officer of the Commissionerate.

Deputy Commissioner (South) Anupam Singh told reporters that the investigation is ongoing. “A thorough probe is being conducted to determine the actual reason behind the suicide. It would be premature to comment further,” he said.

The case has drawn significant attention amid political sparring over the issue of NRC and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls.

Mystery surrounds the suicide note itself, which reportedly mentioned NRC as the reason behind Kar's extreme step.

The West Bengal BJP has dismissed this claim, arguing that since Kar's name appeared in the 2002 voters’ list -- the year of the last SIR conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) -- there was no reason for him to fear exclusion.

Adding to the confusion, Kar’s brother-in-law Uttam Hazra told the media that the deceased had lost four fingers on his right hand in an accident years ago, raising doubts about whether he could have written the note himself, as he was not left-handed.

Meanwhile, Mausumi Kar, the sister-in-law of the deceased, has lodged a complaint at the Khardaha police station, alleging that Pradeep Kar was driven to suicide after being “intentionally instilled with fear” regarding the NRC. She has sought a full investigation into those who may have influenced or misled him.

The incident has added to the growing political tension in the state, where concerns over electoral roll revisions and alleged voter deletions have sparked widespread debate and protests.

--IANS

src/pgh