Another Booth Level Officer (BLO) tragically died by suicide in the Ranibandh Assembly constituency in Bankura district, West Bengal. The body of a BLO was discovered hanging in a school classroom in the Rajakata area of the district. Preliminary investigations indicated that Haradhan Mandal, a primary school headmaster, took his own life.
A suicide note found at the scene mentioned the excessive work pressure related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Upon notification, the Ranibandh police recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem at Bankura Sammilani Medical College. Haradhan Mandal, who was also a BLO for booth number 206 in Ranibandh, was the headmaster of Rajakata Majherpara Primary School in Bankura.
Haradhan had left home to gather documents for voters in his booth but did not return, causing concern among family members. His body was later found hanging in a classroom, with a suicide note expressing his inability to cope with the pressure. His family mentioned his struggle with depression due to the SIR work pressure.
Trinamool Congress All-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee criticized the Election Commission for the rushed and politically-motivated Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Banerjee attributed the BLO’s suicide to the pressure from SIR-related work. He highlighted the loss of over 50 lives during the SIR process in West Bengal, blaming it on a voter-cleansing operation favoring a particular party.
Banerjee condemned the BJP for the BLO’s death, accusing them of disregarding human costs for political gains. He emphasized that history would remember such actions and stated that Bengal would not forget or forgive.
