BLO Commits Suicide in West Bengal Citing SIR Pressure—Second Case in State, Fifth Nationwide

Key Points

A Booth Level Officer (BLO) from West Bengal’s Nadia district committed suicide on Saturday, 22 November 2025, citing severe pressure due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. This marks the second suicide in the state and the fifth nationwide related to the SIR workload.

The deceased, Rinku Tarafdar, was found hanging at her home in Kishanganj. Her suicide note explicitly attributed her decision to the “unbearable stress” of SIR duties. She wrote that she was unable to manage the workload and feared consequences from superiors.

“I do not support any political party. I am a very ordinary person. But I cannot handle this inhuman work pressure,” she wrote.

Her family echoed these claims and said she had been stressed for several days. They said that she had spoken repeatedly about the pressure to meet SIR deadlines and feared being held responsible for mistakes. Even though she had completed most of her on-ground duties, Tarafdar was not able to carry out her online responsibilities.

“I have completed 95% of the offline work, but I don't know anything about the online work. Informing the supervisor also yielded no results,” she wrote. Tarafdar was a 51-year-old para-teacher, who did not have the required digital knowledge to carry out the data entry mandated of all BLOs as part of the SIR.

Her family urged the state government to intervene and warned that the current pace of the revision was forcing officers into severe mental distress. “This is not suicide, but murder by the EC,” her husband said. In her note, Tarafdar had said that her husband and children should not be blamed for her decision, rather the onus lay on the ECI.

Local authorities have begun an inquiry. Officials confirmed that the district administration has reported the matter to the ECI. The Chief Election Officer of Bengal is yet to comment on the matter. The ruling TMC has hit out at the ECI, with CM Mamata Banerjee asking, “How many more lives will be lost? How many more need to die for this SIR? How many more dead bodies shall we see for this process?”

See Also: SIR Phase II: Over 37 Crore Enumeration Forms Distributed Across 12 States/UTs

SIR Pressure Mounts Across West Bengal

This is the second suicide is West Bengal linked to SIR pressure. It follows another fatality earlier in the month and comes amid growing anxiety among field staff assigned to door-to-door verification work.

Reports indicate that the SIR workload in the state has intensified, with several BLOs collapsing or falling ill in recent weeks – at least four were hospitalisations in a span of forty-eight hours, all of them exhibiting symptoms of exhaustion and stress. At least one other BLO died from stress related to the process.

These incidents have triggered demonstrations by BLOs across the state. Members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee, numebering in the hundred, planned a march in Kolkata on Monday, 24 November 2025, to protest what they called unsafe field conditions and unrealistic deadlines. Many claimed they were assigned large verification zones without transport support, security or compensation for extended working hours. Field staff said that complaints about fatigue were ignored as supervisors pushed to meet targets before the ECI’s final cut-off date. This was preceded by several smaller demonstrations across the state.

With the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections scheduled to for March-April 2026, the ECI has set a tight timeline for the SIR in the state. The enumeration phase is supposed to be completed by 4 December 2025, with the entire responsibility of form distribution, verification, and data entry lying on BLOs.

Two days before the Nadia suicide, CM Banerjee had written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding a halt to the SIR process, arguing that it was being rushed.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the ECI of pushing BLOs to a breaking point, while the BJP countered that the state government had failed to ensure proper support and staffing. BLO associations submitted memoranda demanding immediate reduction of workload, more personnel, and counselling facilities.

Nationwide Pattern: Deaths, Illnesses and ECI’s Push

The Nadia suicide marks the fifth suicide and eleventh death nationwide attributed to SIR pressure.

In Gujarat, a BLO from Tapi district died by suicide earlier this month. His said that he was “deeply stressed” and had complained that impossible targets and long hours were affecting his mental health. Investigators said he feared official action if he failed to complete verification tasks.

In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, media reports cited BLOs collapsing during field duties due to exhaustion. Some officers were found unconscious in rural areas after being sent on door-to-door verification assignments over long distances with inadequate time or rest.

The ECI has defended the SIR process, claiming it is essential to update electoral rolls and prevent duplication. It said states must ensure adequate rest and supervision for BLOs. But on the ground, officers say they are overwhelmed by the workload, deadlines and fear of punitive notices. When questioned, state-level officers have replied saying that they are only enforcing the ECI’s deadlines and targets.

As of yet, the ECI has not issued any revision of its timelines, or commented on the suicides. [Rh]

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