Kolkata: A 57-year-old Booth Level Officer (BLO) in West Bengal’s Salboni died of a heart attack on Thursday morning, with his family alleging that excessive pressure from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls contributed to the tragedy.
The deceased, Subimal Karak, a resident of Bankibandh in Salboni under the Mednipore Assembly constituency, was a teacher at Lalgeria Sabli Primary School. Alongside his teaching duties, he was serving as a BLO responsible for voter verification in the area. Family members said that after the publication of the final voter list, he had been
receiving numerous calls from voters seeking clarification about their status, adding to the workload.
They alleged that the stress of handling complaints and queries related to the SIR exercise led to a cardiac arrest. Karak was the sole earning member of his family.
Meanwhile, several deaths in the state have reportedly been linked to anxiety surrounding the SIR scrutiny process. Rafique Ali Gazi (44), a van driver from Magrahat, allegedly hanged himself on Tuesday night after discovering that his name was marked “under adjudication” in the final voter list published last Saturday.
His wife, Amina Bibi, lodged a written complaint at Usti Police Station against the Election Commission, prompting an investigation. Local TMC workers also staged a protest and briefly blocked the Usti–Shirakol Road on Wednesday.
In another incident, Hazera Biwi (43) from Harishchandrapur allegedly died after consuming poison upon finding her name marked under adjudication. Gouranga De (62) from Jalpaiguri also reportedly died by suicide despite submitting documents during the hearing process.
Meanwhile, Krishna Paul, an elderly resident of Ranaghat, reportedly died of a heart attack after discovering that the names of his family members were missing from the final voter list.
The series of deaths has raised concerns over the stress and confusion surrounding the intensive revision process for electoral rolls.