The hanging body of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) was recovered from a primary school in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Sunday, triggering shock in the area and reigniting debate over the pressure faced by teachers engaged in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list-related duties. The deceased, identified as Haradhan Mondal, was the headmaster of Rajakata Majherpara Primary School under Ranibandh police station.
According to police, Mondal allegedly died by suicide, hanging himself from a ceiling fan inside a locked classroom of the school. A suicide note recovered from the spot reportedly read, “I can’t take the pressure anymore.”
Local residents first noticed something amiss on Sunday morning when they entered the school premises and found one classroom locked for an unusually long time. Growing suspicious, they forced the door open and discovered the headmaster’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling fan. The Ranibandh police were immediately informed. Officers reached the spot, recovered the body, and cordoned off the area to initiate an investigation.
Police sources said a preliminary investigation suggests suicide. The recovered note allegedly points to severe mental stress linked to Mondal’s responsibilities as a Booth Level Officer. “The note indicates that he was under immense pressure due to administrative work related to his BLO duties. However, the investigation is ongoing, and the entire contents of the note are being examined carefully,” a police official said.
The body has been sent to Bankura Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination, which is expected to shed more light on the cause and timing of death.
The incident drew sharp political reactions, with Trinamool Congress (TMC) All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee expressing deep concern over the death. In a post on X, Abhishek alleged that Mondal took his life due to the pressure arising from the SIR process being carried out by the Election Commission.
“The death toll keeps mounting. Another BLO appointed and engaged by the @ECISVEEP has taken his own life under the inhuman pressure of a HURRIED, CHAOTIC and POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED SIR process,” Abhishek wrote. He claimed that the suicide note explicitly blamed the “inhuman nature of the task” for the decision.
The TMC MP further alleged that over 50 lives had already been lost due to “panic, anxiety, exhaustion and fear” linked to what he described as a “voter-cleansing operation designed for BJP’s electoral gain.” Accusing the Election Commission of acting with political bias, Abhishek said the process should have been conducted in a phased and planned manner rather than being rushed.
“Election Commission, bending its spine to serve the political arithmetic of ONE PARTY and the ego of ONE MAN,” he wrote, directly targeting the BJP. “If people drop dead from fatigue, despair or terror, it is an acceptable collateral cost, a convenient footnote in their power play.”
The death of Mondal has once again brought into focus concerns over the mental stress faced by teachers and staff deployed for BLO and other election-related duties. In recent years, educators’ associations and civil society groups have repeatedly raised alarms about mounting administrative pressure on teachers, especially during intensive electoral exercises.
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