A fourth Booth Level Officer (BLO) died in Murshidabad’s Khargram on Thursday, taking the toll of deaths of officials involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state to four.
The family members of the deceased Zakir Hossain, a primary school teacher, said he complained of severe chest pain and collapsed within minutes.
He succumbed late on Thursday night.
The family claimed he had been under “tremendous pressure” balancing SIR duties with regular teaching work. They alleged despite repeated requests, the primary school where he was employed as a teacher did not relieve him of his classroom duties.
Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra said the delegation that met the full bench of the Election Commission on Friday shared with the CEC a list of 40 people whose deaths, they alleged, were linked to the SIR process.
The commission dismissed it as mere allegations, the Lok Sabha MP claimed.
“We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on his hands. We raised five questions. After this, Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, and Mamata Bala Thakur spoke and shared whatever they had to in about 40 minutes,” said Derek O’Brien, Trinamool leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier this month, a BLO in Purba Bardhaman died of a heart attack, while two others, in Nadia’s Chapra and Jalpaiguri’s Malbazar, allegedly died by suicide, with families attributing it to pressure linked to the revision work.
Similar deaths have been reported from Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, where the SIR exercise is ongoing.
Trinamool Congress led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, has accused the Election Commission (EC) of burdening BLOs with an “inhumane” and “unplanned” workload.
Addressing a rally in Bongaon earlier this week, Banerjee said at least 10 BLOs had been hospitalised and three had already died.
A senior TMC leader said on Friday, “In Murshidabad, one more BLO has died due to the pressure put by the EC in connection with SIR. The total number of deaths is four, and nearly 14 others are undergoing medical treatment.”
The BJP has argued that any stress among BLOs stems from political and administrative pressure exerted by the ruling party.