Bengal SIR: Headmaster on BLO duty found hanging in school; family cite immense work pressure, eighth death since rollout

BEHRAMPORE: The headmaster of a govt school in Murshidabad, who was appointed as a booth-level officer for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, was found hanging in the school’s office on Saturday night.

Family members and colleagues said the mounting SIR workload at the start of an academic session drove 48-year-old Hamimul Islam, who was also suffering from severe back pain, to end his life.





Police have started and investigation.

Islam’s death is the eighth reported death of a BLO since the SIR rollout in Bengal on Nov 4. The headmaster of Paikmari Char Krishnapur Boys’ School was the BLO for booth 282 in the Bhagwan-gola assembly constituency in Murshidabad, which has around 800 voters.

Brother Farmanul Kalam said Islam had left for his school around 10am on Saturday. Since the SIR started, he had been returning home around 1.30pm on most days.

As Islam was not returning on Saturday and his mobile phone was switched off, family members started a sea-rch for him. They went to the school around 7.30pm but Isl-am was nowhere to be found. They again went to the school around 11pm and searched the rooms. Islam was found hanging in the school’s office.

Kalam said his brother had been under immense mental stress because of his BLO duties.

Hamimul Islam’s wife Sima Bibi said her husband, the only earning member in their family, had been suffering from severe back pain. “Every day he had to work till 1 am. He had to take medicines for headache almost every day. He was very stressed and took this extreme step due to severe mental pressure. We have two children. Now that he is no more, how will I bring them up?” she said.

Assistant BLO Michhu Sheikh said, “As headmaster, he had to manage the entire school. The new session has just started. Admissions were going on. Along with running the school, he had to carry out his SIR duties. He had been stressed over the last few days. He was also worried over the introduction of new features in the BLO app.”

Islam’s mobile phone is yet to be found. Local Trinamool leaders organised a rally protesting the SIR workload, which they said was responsible for the death of so many BLOs.

Last month, a 53-year-old BLO in Bankura, who was the headmaster of a primary school, was found hanging in the school. A note found in the room read, “I cannot take this pressure any more, farewell.”