Woman Abuses, Assaults Poll Officer In Chhattisgarh's Raipur

A disturbing video showing a Booth Level Officer (BLO) being assaulted and abused in Raipur's Kali Mata ward has gone viral, raising serious concerns about the safety of officials working on the ongoing voter list revision under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

According to the information, the incident occurred on Saturday. In the video, a woman is seen yelling at the BLO, using abusive language, and then physically attacking her.

The confrontation reportedly began when the woman demanded that the BLO deliver the SIR verification form to her home. When the form did not reach her on time, she allegedly started abusing the officer, eventually hitting her.

The woman also slapped a man who tried to intervene.

Despite the severity of the incident, no police complaint has been filed so far.

This is not an isolated event.

Earlier, a BLO in Raipur's Mahant Laxmi Narayan ward had accused a BJP councillor of threatening her during the voter list verification process. Officials have repeatedly expressed concerns over increasing hostility and pressure during the intensive, time-bound revision exercise.

According to the Election Commission of India, Chhattisgarh has 2,10,68,201 printed counting forms, out of which 99.61% have already been distributed. Overall, 1.7738 crore forms (83.55%) have been handed out during the revision process reflecting the sheer scale of work and the pressure faced by BLOs across the state.

In another major development related to the SIR process, former CPI MLA from Konta, Manish Kunjam, has moved the Supreme Court, expressing concerns that a large number of tribal voters may be removed from the rolls.

Kunjam, who is also the convenor of the Bastariya Raj Morcha, argued that the SIR process is challenging for vulnerable tribal groups in the Bastar region.