NEW DELHI, Nov 22: Another Booth Level Officer (BLO) in West Bengal engaged in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties has allegedly committed suicide after leaving behind a two-page note saying she could no longer cope with the pressure of the work entrusted to her by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The incident, which took place in Nadia, has prompted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lash out at the Election Commission, asking how many more BLOs must die under the process. So far, West Bengal has recorded three cases of BLO suicide during the ongoing SIR exercise, deepening political tension and raising urgent questions over the EC’s push to fast-track voter verification.
The deceased, Rinku Tarafdar, lived in Nadia’s Krishnanagar. Her family says she had been struggling for days with the online work required for SIR, despite repeatedly telling colleagues and neighbours that she was unable to manage the load.
According to the family, Tarafdar wrote in her suicide note that she had completed “ninety per cent” of the work, but could not finish the digital component. She allegedly feared being penalised for it, writing that she did not want to “have a stroke” from the stress and that she dreaded the prospect of “going to jail at this age” for failing to comply.
Her relatives say she was “still fine” late on Sunday night but may have been attempting to complete the pending online work early in the morning before taking her life. A relative, recounting the moment the family learnt of her death, said, “I got to know around seven in the morning. My sister called and said my sister-in-law had committed suicide. She had written a full note, two pages, saying she could not bear the pressure. She wasn’t good at the online part. She had finished most of the work but not the online tasks.
She wrote that she couldn’t handle the pressure, that she didn’t want to fall ill, that she didn’t want to face harassment or go to jail.” The family questioned why a para-teacher and “ordinary housewife,” as they described her, had been handed such a demanding assignment without support. “We want to know which officer decided she should be given such a big responsibility. This pressure has cost her life,” the relative said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted sharply, calling the death “alarming” and pointing out that this was “yet another BLO” dying during the SIR process. In a social media post, she wrote, “Profoundly shocked to know of the death of yet another BLO, a lady para-teacher, who has committed suicide at Krishnanagar today. BLO of part number 201 of AC 82 Chapra, Smt Rinku Tarafdar, has blamed ECI in her suicide note. How many more lives will be lost? How many more dead bodies shall we see for this process?”
Bengal has been grappling with a cluster of deaths linked to the SIR process. On Tuesday, Shanti Muni, a BLO in Jalpaiguri, died by suicide. Her husband said she was distraught after her resignation was rejected and she was told to continue SIR duties. “She would tell me she couldn’t follow Bengali properly. She would break down in the evenings,” he said.
Last week, Namita Hansda, 50, a BLO in Purba Bardhaman, died of a brain stroke five days after the SIR exercise began. Her family alleged she was under intense stress due to workload. Separately, the state has reported nine deaths, including six suicides, among residents who allegedly feared being removed from the electoral roll during the verification drive.
In Kolkata, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also sharpened the attack on the SIR exercise, claiming that similar distress was being reported from other states as well. “Not only in Bengal, but also in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, reports of BLO suicides are coming in. This is very unfortunate. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned and opposed this (the current SIR process). On one hand, India’s common genuine voters are dying by suicide, and on the other, BLOs are dying by suicide. The BJP leaders who are making statements on this are simply making fun of the affected families. This entire system is not practical, and this is the TMC’s stand. How can two months be enough to complete a task that takes even two years?” Ghosh said.
The SIR exercise, launched across 12 states on 4 November, requires BLOs to distribute enumeration forms, collect them and digitise data using an app. BLOs are mostly teachers or government employees already juggling full-time responsibilities. Each booth typically has 1,000–1,200 voters, and a BLO must make three visits to ensure contact. Many officers in Bengal say the pace of digital entries, late-night directives and sudden instructions have become unmanageable. This has led to spontaneous protests in several districts.
The BJP has rejected suggestions that the deaths are linked to the SIR drive. The party says the ruling Trinamool Congress was attempting to create panic to undermine the exercise, which aims to weed out illegal voters.
(Manas Dasgupta)