West Bengal BLO's Sudden Demise Sparks Alarming Concerns Over SIR Workload

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A 52-year-old Booth Level Officer (BLO) in West Bengal's Nadia district has died by suicide, leaving behind a trail of questions and concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Rinku Tarafdar, a para-teacher at Vivekananda Vidyamandir, was found hanging in her residence in Krishnanagar. According to her family, Tarafdar was under immense pressure due to her SIR workload, which she claimed was inhumane and unbearable. A suicide note recovered from her residence allegedly blames the Election Commission for her situation. In the note, Tarafdar expressed her frustration with the system, stating that she was a part-time teacher with a low salary, yet she was assigned a heavy workload that she couldn't manage. She also mentioned that she had completed 95% of the offline work but was unable to cope with the online tasks. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her shock over the incident and has written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging him to halt the SIR exercise, which she claims is chaotic, coercive, and dangerous. This incident has sparked concerns about the impact of SIR on the mental health of BLOs. The Election Commission has sought a report from senior officials in Nadia to understand the circumstances surrounding Tarafdar's death. The opposition BJP has questioned the TMC leadership's claims, challenging them to demand a CBI probe into the death. Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha has rubbished the TMC's allegations, stating that the suicide note is fake and that the BLO may have been under pressure from the TMC itself. As the SIR process continues, concerns about the well-being of BLOs and the integrity of the electoral process are growing. The incident has highlighted the need for a more humane and manageable system for BLOs, who play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth conduct of elections.