Rinku Tarafdar, a booth-level officer in Nadia, was found hanging on Saturday, a purported suicide note referring to the “inhuman” workload and her fear of punishment for failing to meet the deadline for uploading SIR data.
“I wanted to live… but they compelled me to die because of such failure,” Rinku, 54, the second BLO reported to have committed suicide in Bengal because of SIR-related stress, wrote.
Her death triggered a political slugfest with chief minister Mamata Banerjee asking the Election Commission “how many more lives will be lost” in implementing the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bengal.
Rinku, who lacked computer skills, wrote that she had nearly finished her offline tasks but was unable to upload the data online, and had been rebuked for the delay.
The contractual schoolteacher added that she had been burdened with additional responsibility for another part of her constituency, Chapra, after the designated BLO remained absent.
Bengal’s chief electoral officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, has sought a report from Nadia district magistrate Aneesh Dasgupta on the circumstances leading to Rinku’s death.
Mamata shared on her X handle a picture of Rinku and a two-page suicide note purportedly written by her.
“Profoundly shocked to know of the death of yet another BLO, a lady para-teacher, who has committed suicide at Krishnanagar today,” the chief minister wrote.
“BLO of part number 201 of AC 82 Chapra, Smt Rinku Tarafdar has blamed ECI in her suicide note before (copy is attached herewith) before committing suicide at her residence today, How many more lives will be lost? How many more need to die for this SIR? How many more dead bodies shall we see for this process? This has become truly alarming now!!”
On Thursday, Mamata had written to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar demanding an immediate halt to the SIR in Bengal, and flagged the heavy workload and harassment faced by the BLOs — the foot soldiers of the exercise.
When Rinku’s husband Ashis woke early on Saturday at their home in Sashthitala, Krishnanagar, he could not see her. Searching for her, he found a second-floor room locked.
He broke the door open with neighbours’ help to find his wife hanging from the ceiling fan. She was declared dead on arrival at the Nadia District Hospital.
Ashis, who owns a fuel station in Chapra, alleged “murder by the EC”.
“My wife was under immense pressure because of the heavy workload and became depressed because she could not manage the online work as she was not tech-savvy,” he said.
“She feared punishment for the delay. She repeatedly asked for help with her online tasks and even submitted a written appeal to the district administration. But the officer refused to accept the application and rebuked her for lacking computer skills…. They literally killed her.”
Sister-in-law Sadhana said a depressed Rinku had almost stopped eating.
Bereaved family members mourn the death of Rinku Tarafder at their home in Krishnanagar town on Saturday. Picture by Pranab Debnath
Three BLOs have now died during the SIR in Bengal, two of them by suspected suicide.
Santimuni Oraon, a BLO in Jalpaiguri district, reportedly took her own life on Wednesday. Namita Hansda, of Memari in East Burdwan, died of a cerebral attack believed to have been triggered by overwork and stress as BLO.
Last week, a BLO from Konnagar collapsed while on duty. Hours after Rinku’s death, BLO Kaushik Ghosh, 43, from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad fell unconscious while working and was admitted to the Jangipur Subdivisional Hospital.
The families of the dead and ill BLOs have consistently blamed the SIR workload and mental stress, underlining that the lack of computer proficiency has become a burden for many of these officials.
Compounding the problem, the state government has been sitting on a plea from the Election Commission to appoint temporary data entry operators.
Last week, BLOs demonstrated at several places in the state demanding additional support to upload the filled-in forms.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said Rinku’s death must be investigated. “At present, even if a person dies of snakebite in West Bengal, the ECI and SIR would be held responsible,” he said.
“The SIR has been rolled out simultaneously in 12 states and UTs. Why are there no such deaths in other states?”
Minister and Krishnanagar South Trinamool MLA Ujjwal Biswas, a neighbour of the Tarafdars, visited their home. He blamed the poll panel for the death.
In a video statement, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra accused CEC Kumar of being an “aider and abettor” to Rinku’s death. She questioned the need to have the SIR completed in just 30 days.
Sumit Chaki, a CPM leader in Krishnanagar, visited the bereaved family and demanded alternative arrangements for uploading SIR data.
“Many BLOs are not at all computer or mobile-savvy and lack the required knowledge. They should either be exempted from online tasks or given proper assistance,” he said.