Jalpaiguri: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed deep shock over the death of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) at New Glencoe Tea Garden in Malbazar, alleging that the “unplanned and relentless” pressure of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is claiming the lives of election workers. This is the second such death reported in the state.
Earlier, on November 9, Namita Hansda (50), another ICDS worker serving as the BLO for Booth No. 278 in Chak Balarampur of Memari block in East Burdwan, died of a cerebral attack. Her family also attributed her death indirectly to extreme mental stress linked to SIR workload.
In a strongly-worded post on social media, the Chief Minister said: “Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri — an Anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. Twenty-eight people have already lost their lives since SIR began — some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload. A process that earlier took 3 years is now being forced into 2 months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost.”
Earlier that morning, 48-year-old Shantimoni Ekka (Oraon)—an ICDS worker and BLO of Booth No. 20/101 under Rangamati Gram Panchayat—was found hanging in front of her house in the tea garden. According to the police and family members, she had been under severe mental stress due to SIR-related duties.
Her son, D’Souza Ekka, said she struggled to understand the SIR forms because they were written in Bengali. “My mother spoke only Hindi and struggled with the Bengali forms. A few days ago, she went to the BDO office to resign because she couldn’t handle the pressure, but they didn’t accept her resignation. She would return home crying daily,” he said. “This morning, I woke up to my father’s screams and saw her hanging,” he added.
Her husband, Suku Ekka, said: “She woke up every day at 4:30 am to pray and cook. But today, instead of going to the kitchen, she took her life. She couldn’t read or write Bengali, and voters’ questions and workload pushed her to the edge. We never imagined she would harm herself.”
Backward Classes Welfare Minister Buluchik Baraik visited the bereaved family soon after the incident. He said no one should be driven to suicide because of SIR pressures and added that party workers would have helped if the workload hadn’t been imposed solely on her.
District Superintendent of Police Khandbahale Umesh Ganpat confirmed that the police have registered a case of unnatural death. “The body has been sent for post-mortem. Necessary legal procedures are underway,” he said.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh strongly criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the SIR has been “forcefully imposed” on Bengal.
“To fulfil the political aspirations of the BJP, the Election Commission has imposed this process and is putting immense pressure on BLOs. One has committed suicide, another died of high blood pressure. With the Assembly elections approaching, the ECI is rushing this process within an unrealistic time frame,” Ghosh said.
He added: “People of Bengal are now fearful because of SIR. The BJP is afraid of the people of Bengal and is carrying out these conspiratorial actions by leaning on the Election Commission.”
Wednesday’s incident has renewed debate across the state on the rising pressure, linguistic barriers, and mounting stress faced by BLOs during the voter list revision exercise, prompting calls for immediate intervention and review of the ongoing process.