Another Booth Level Officer (BLO) passed away in Cooch Behar district, north Bengal, allegedly due to stress from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work. The BLO, identified as Ashish Dhar, was admitted to the hospital after experiencing chest pain and unfortunately died during treatment. His family claimed that the pressure from SIR duties and depression had taken a toll on his health.
Ashish, a resident of Ichhamari village, was responsible for Booth No. 103 in the area. His family mentioned that he had been under immense stress for days because of the SIR work. Juggling his teaching responsibilities along with BLO duties had reportedly caused severe stress and depression for Ashish.
The deceased BLO, who was also an assistant teacher, had expressed concerns about managing his workload. Scheduled to conduct hearings for 39 people at his booth, Ashish had been anxious about completing the assigned tasks. Tragically, he fell ill after returning home from work, experiencing chest pain, and ultimately passed away during treatment at the hospital.
Trinamool Congress district president Abhijit De Bhowmik visited Ashish’s family after his death, alleging that the pressure of SIR work had overwhelmed him. In contrast, district BJP president Abhijit Barman refuted the claims, stating that BLOs were not under pressure during the current phase of the SIR work.
