55-yr-old BLO dies in Malda, family blames SIR workload

Malda: A 55-year-old booth-level officer (BLO) in Malda died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday night, prompting his family to blame SIR-related workload for the fatality.

Utpal Thokdar, a para-teacher and a resident of Naoda Para, was under severe stress ahead of the publication of the first supplementary list of voters "under adjudication", his family members claimed. Thokdar was the BLO for booth 93 of Chandrapara panchayat under Chanchal PS.

The names of 110 voters in Thokdar's booth were marked "under adjudication" in the final rolls published on Feb 28. These voters held Thokdar responsible for their SIR status and frequently approached him for inquiries.

"My husband often feared that these voters would hold him accountable if they were excluded and became very worried," said his widow, Subhra. A relative added: "He was under immense mental stress over the last few days. This situation arose due to the pressure of SIR."

Malda has eight lakh people, the second-highest number of people across Bengal's districts, to be placed "under adjudication".

Thokdar suffered chest pain on Saturday morning and was rushed to the Chanchal Sub-Division Hospital, where he died in the evening. The sole earning member of his family, Thokdar is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Villagers demanded compensation for Thokdar's family from the govt. MLA Rahim Bakshi, the district Trinamool president, said: "The Election Commission and BJP should take responsibility for this death as the huge SIR workload, along with the uncertainty of the fate of voters, led to this fatality."

No police complaint has been filed.

Malda has recorded similar incidents recently. On March 13, Abul Barkat, a teacher and BLO at Kaliachak, died of a heart attack. Anikul Alam, another teacher from Kaliachak High School, also died of a heart attack. In Barkat's booth, 850 out of 1,300 voters were under adjudication, leading to pressure from the public.