Bengal woman, daughter critical after alleged suicide bid over SIR form fear
Kolkata (PTI): A 27-year-old woman in West Bengal's Hooghly district allegedly attempted suicide along with her minor daughter reportedly out of fear after not receiving a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration form, her family claimed on Sunday.
The alleged incident took place at the woman's home at Dhaniakhali in the district on Saturday.
The woman and her daughter are currently in critical condition at SSKM Hospital's ICU, police said, adding that an investigation into the alleged incident is underway.
According to the woman's father, she was deeply distressed after she did not receive the SIR form while other family members did.
"She was frightened because he had no documents and feared being deported. Out of panic, she consumed poison along with her daughter," he said after visiting her daughter in Kolkata.
She had been living at her parental home in Dhaniakhali in the district for the past six years following a marital dispute. She had been under visible mental stress for the past few days, they said.
Dhaniakhali Trinamool Congress MLA Asima Patra accused the BJP of creating fear among people through misleading statements about NRC and detention camps.
"When BJP leaders talk about sending people to detention camps, it spreads panic across Bengal. A similar case occurred in Dankuni a few days ago," Patra said, adding, "BJP is playing with people's lives.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
