A booth-level officer in West Bengal's Bankura district died by suicide due to pressure from the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Haradhan Mandal, a 53-year-old headmaster at Rajakata Majherpara Primary School, left a note citing overwhelming stress. The Trinamool Congress and BJP have blamed the Election Commission and state government respectively for the incident.
On Sunday, Haradhan Mandal, a 53-year-old booth-level officer and headmaster at Rajakata Majherpara Primary School in West Bengal's Bankura district, died by suicide in a classroom. He was handling BLO duties for booth number 206 in the Ranibandh block alongside his teaching responsibilities during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Police recovered a suicide note beside his body, in which he wrote, “I can no longer handle the pressure. Bidding farewell. I alone am responsible for this. No one else is. The mistake is mine.” He also noted that he did not trust others and handled all tasks himself.
Mandal left home around 10 am, telling family he was collecting voter documents, but they found his hanging body later at the school. The SIR process is in its second phase, involving hearings for voters with mismatched information. His family said Mandal suffered from physical ailments and depression due to the workload, often working until 3 or 4 am.
Son Soham Mandal stated, “My father was suffering from various physical ailments. Despite that, he used to work on the SIR until 3 or 4 am. On top of that, there were various other forms causing mental pressure. He could no longer bear this mental strain and committed suicide.” Wife Mala Mandal added, “Due to his illness, my husband used to finish his dinner and go to bed by 9 pm. But because of the SIR work, he had to stay awake throughout the night. He tried his best to ensure there were no errors in his work. But he received no help from anyone. He was forced to take this step.”
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee posted on X, “The death toll keeps mounting. Another BLO... has taken his own life under the inhuman pressure of a HURRIED, CHAOTIC and POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED SIR process... Over 50 lives have already been lost... What should have been a methodical process has instead been bulldozed through by a pliant, complicit Election Commission.” BJP's Mangal Pandey countered, “The SIR work has been conducted in Bihar as well... But here, the Chief Minister has been opposing the SIR from the very beginning. Consequently, the local administration and the TMC leadership are constantly pressuring the BLOs... The state government and the Trinamool party must take full responsibility.”
