EC may seek report from CEOs over deaths of booth-level officers

As deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) in various states have sparked a political row, sources in the Election Commission have said that the panel would sought reports from the chief electoral officers of the states concerned if it was apprised of any case of alleged work-related harassment.

According to media reports, at least five BLOs have died in West Bengal, Kerala and Rajasthan this month, allegedly due to suicide or heart attack. In some of these incidents, the relatives of the deceased have blamed 'excessive work pressure' for their deaths.

All BLOs currently engaged for SIR work across the country are under the control of the poll panel, which is paying them remuneration for their services.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has claimed that 28 lives, in total, had been lost since the SIR began. “Some have died due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload,” she said.

When asked about her allegations, EC sources said, “If it comes to the notice of the poll body that these (deaths) were happening due to alleged harassment of BLOs during work, the CEO of that particular state(s) will have to give a report.”

On being asked about Banerjee’s letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging him to halt the SIR, Election Commission sources said that it was under consideration and a response would be sent to the Chief Minister. However, they asserted that conducting the SIR was a constitutional mandate.

According to media reports, a schoolteacher working as a BLO in Gujarat's Kheda district died of a heart attack on Friday. His family has purportedly attributed his death to "excessive work pressure" linked to the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.

At least five BLOs have died in West Bengal, Kerala and Rajasthan this month, allegedly due to suicide or heart attack, said a media report.

The BLO, Rameshbhai Parmar (50), a resident of Jambudi village in Kapadvanj taluka of the district, died of a heart attack in his sleep at his home during the intervening night of November 19 and 20, his brother Narendra Parmar told reporters, said agencies.

Rameshbhai Parmar, who taught at a government school at Navapura village in Kapadvanj, was recently given the duty of BLO, he said.

On November 19, the West Bengal CM wrote on X that an Anganwadi worker and tribal woman, Shanti Muni Ekka, "took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work".

On November 20, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said that there have been 31 deaths in 24 days in the name of 'Silent Invisible Rigging' in Bengal. He also shared the list of BLOs who have allegedly died between October 28 and November 19 in the state.

Another PTI report dated November 19 said that a BLO engaged in SIR work died of a heart attack in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district on Wednesday morning, minutes after receiving a phone call from the tehsildar, alleged his family members.

Hariram (alias Hariom Bairwa) (34), a Grade-III teacher posted at Sevti Khurd Government School in Rajasthan and currently deployed as a BLO, collapsed suddenly after a call from the tehsildar, according to the man's family. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the news report said.

Hariram's relatives alleged that officials were exerting excessive pressure on him regarding SIR duties, due to which he had been under severe stress for the last six days. They claimed he had stopped talking much at home and suffered a heart attack due to the continuous workload.

Earlier, a government school teacher in Jaipur allegedly died by suicide on November 16, and his family claimed he was under intense pressure to finish voters' list-related work under the SIR exercise.

Mukesh Jangid, 45, posted at the Government Primary School in Nahri ka Bas, allegedly jumped in front of a train near the Bindayaka railway cross, SHO Vinod Verma was quoted as saying by PTI.

On the same day, Aneesh George, a 38-year-old school employee who had been working late till night while serving as a BLO for the upcoming local body polls in Kerala, was found hanging at his home in Payyanur, Kannur district.

A case of unnatural death was registered by the Kerala Police. George's kin and neighbours claimed that the pressure of election-related responsibilities pushed him to the edge. The FIR said he had been under stress in connection with the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.