Overview
- Police in Nadia, West Bengal, said BLO Rinku Tarafdar was found hanging and a note was recovered in which she blamed the Election Commission, with her family alleging stress from Special Intensive Revision duties.
- West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer sought an immediate report from the Nadia district magistrate, and the poll panel has indicated state CEOs must report if deaths are linked to alleged harassment during SIR work.
- Other recent cases include Gujarat teacher and BLO Arvind Vadher, whose family cited a note on mental stress and exhaustion, and multiple deaths reported in Madhya Pradesh where relatives alleged pressure tied to daily targets.
- Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked the Election Commission to halt the SIR, sharing suicide notes and alleging inhuman timelines, while BJP leaders dispute her claims, urge independent probes and fault the state administration for poor support.
- BLO associations in West Bengal demanded higher compensation and fixes to operations, citing a removed edit option in the app, slow servers, inadequate training and staffing, as the state announced payouts in several recent cases.