Many BLOs across the country have been falling ill under the immense pressure of SIR-related work. Some have even lost their lives. This time, a BLO chose to end his own life. His family squarely blames the “SIR” for his death. The young man’s sister has filed a written complaint with the police. He was supposed to get married on Wednesday, 26 November.
The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur. The deceased has been identified as Sudhir Kumar, whose body was found hanging on Tuesday.
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According to the police and the family, Sudhir could not attend a SIR meeting on Sunday. He was busy with last-minute preparations for his wedding. The family alleges that a clerk from the department suspended him for skipping the meeting.
Since then, Sudhir had become mentally shattered. In her FIR, his sister wrote, “On Tuesday morning, a government official came to our house and handed over a letter saying Sudhir had been suspended for not attending the ‘SIR’s meeting. My brother couldn’t bear the pressure and harassment from the officials. That is why he took his own life.” She added that Sudhir had become extremely depressed after the suspension and had started worrying about how the family would survive. Soon after, away from everyone’s eyes, he ended his life.
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BLOs are required to distribute and collect SIR forms and upload voter information by December 4.
BLOs in several states, including West Bengal, have said the workload has become unmanageable. Just last week in Madhya Pradesh, two teachers working as BLOs died within 24 hours of each other. Their families also blamed the SIR pressure for the deaths.
