A Booth Level Officer (BLO) engaged in Special Intensive Revision (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, his family members alleged.
At least four BLOs have died across the country this month so far, allegedly due to suicide or heart attack.
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 the call from the tehsildar, according to the man's family. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
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.
His brother, Ashish Bairwa, alleged that he was working under pressure. He was working late at night and used to wake up early.
Hariram's father, Brijmohan Bairwa, told reporters, "I don't know what the tehsildar said on the call, but five minutes later he suffered a heart attack," he said.
The tehsildar, however, denied all allegations, saying he had only conveyed instructions received from higher authorities.
Khandar Station House Officer (SHO) Lakshman Singh said no formal complaint had been filed yet.
Earlier, a government school teacher at Jaipur allegedly ended his own life on November 16, with his family claiming he was under intense pressure to complete voter list-related work under the SIR exercise.
The teacher, Mukesh Jangid (45), posted at the Government Primary School in Nahri ka Bas, was also assigned duties as a BLO. He allegedly jumped in front of a train near the Bindayaka railway crossing, Bindayaka SHO Vinod Verma said.
On November 16 itself, a 38-year-old school employee, who had been working late into the night while serving as a BLO for the upcoming local body polls, was found hanging in his home in Payyannur in Kannur district of Kerala.
Police have registered a case of unnatural death.
The family members of Aneesh George and residents of the neighbourhood claimed that the pressure of election-related responsibilities pushed him to the edge.
According to the FIR, he had been under stress in connection with the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
On November 9, a BLO engaged in the SIR of electoral rolls died after suffering a brain stroke in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district, her husband claimed, attributing the death indirectly to extreme mental stress caused by work pressure.
District officials said Namita Hansda (50) collapsed at her home in Memari late on the night of November 8 due to "severe stress because of the mounting workload". She was taken to Kalna Subdivisional Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Madhab Hansda, her husband, said Namita, an Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) worker assigned as the BLO for booth No. 278 in Chak Balarampur area of Memari, was "worried a lot about meeting the target of completing the SIR exercise over a stipulated time".
However, a district official clarified that her death was due to medical reasons and no direct link could be established with her SIR duty.
SIR was conducted in Bihar before the state went to the polls earlier this month.
Last month, the EC ordered SIR for Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The Election Commission on Monday ordered 'Special Revision' of electoral rolls in Assam.
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal will go to polls in 2026.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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