A contractual panchayat employee in Manikchak block of Malda district died of a brain stroke on Monday, triggering protests from the Opposition which alleged he was a victim of overwork related to jobs ahead of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.

Deceased Jadu Mandal, 35, was a village-level entrepreneur (VLE), a contractual employee under the Dakshin Chandipur panchayat in Manikchak, Malda.

Opposition parties have accused the administration of subjecting contractual workers to “tremendous stress” over SIR related work.

Mandal, a resident of Uttar Nanditola village, died of stroke on Monday morning at Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH).

Mandal had been working at the Manikchak block office, brought under deputation from his panchayat office.

Mandal had been entering voter details in Excel sheets for the upcoming SIR exercise, according to his colleagues and family members.

They alleged that Mandal and several other VLEs had been forced to work continuously and for long hours on Friday and Saturday without adequate rest.

Following his death, colleagues staged a protest in front of the block development office with Mandal’s body on Monday before his last rites.

On Wednesday, Debajyoti Sinha, the district secretary of CITU, the labour wing of the CPM, said that “excessive workload and stress” made Mandal seriously ill.