Worried about inclusion of name in NRC, man allegedly commits suicide

A Correspondent

TANGLA, June 14: In what may be an example of failure of the State government in instilling a sense of security among common people on inclusion of names of genuine Indian citizens in NRC, a sexagenarian identified as Gopal Das (65), purportedly under pressure to prove himself an Indian citizen, committed suicide at Nislamari village under Tangla Police Station on Monday night. Das, a daily wage earner, was reportedly under acute mental trauma to prove his citizenship, despite having his name included in the voters’ list of 1966. His family members said he had received a notice from the Foreigners Tribunal, Udalguri and was running from pillar to post to pay lawyer’s fees and he had already spent an amount of Rs.15,000. They also claimed that he was worried that his name would not come up in the NRC.

Following the incident, locals in large number gathered in the site of incident and raised slogans against the State government. “His body had been sent for post-mortem and investigations had begun,” said a police sub-inspector. The officer further said it was too early to link the suicide with NRC. “The facts will come out only after proper investigation,” he added.