Tension gripped West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district after a woman Booth Level Officer (BLO) was found dead in the courtyard of her home in what appears to be a suicide. The deceased, identified as Shantimoni Ekka, was discovered by her family on Wednesday morning.
Her relatives claimed she had been under severe mental strain for weeks due to an overwhelming workload. They alleged that constant field duties, election-related assignments, and unrelenting pressure had taken a toll on her. According to her husband and child, this extreme stress forced her to take the drastic step.
Police have sent the body for post-mortem examination and begun an investigation to establish the exact cause of death. Meanwhile, the family’s allegation of “work pressure” has triggered widespread discussion in the locality.
The incident comes at a time when Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti is visiting West Bengal to review progress on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Election Commission of India team arrived on Tuesday for assessments in Kolkata North, South, and South 24 Parganas, and is scheduled to visit Nadia and Murshidabad today. BLOs across the state had also staged a protest on Monday over heavy workload and the tight deadlines set for completing the massive SIR exercise.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep shock over Ekka’s death.
“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 died since the process began, some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload,” she said.
She criticised the Election Commission, alleging that an unplanned and excessively demanding workload had pushed BLOs to the brink. “A process that earlier took three years is now being squeezed into two months to please political masters. I urge the ECI to act responsibly and halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost,” Banerjee added.
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