• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

A day after a booth-level officer (BLO) died by suicide under pressure of poll-related work, a video has surfaced on social media, which is widely being shared as his last video.

In the purported video, Sarvesh Kumar asserted that he had failed to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) work, seeking the forgiveness of his family for what he called 'going far from their world'.

He further asked his mother and sister to take care of his four daughters. Crying, Sarvesh's voice shakes as he could be heard saying, "Meri chhoti-chhoti 4 betiyanhai". (I have 4 small daughters.)

Sarvesh, a 46-year-old assistant teacher posted in a school in Bhagatpur Tanda village, was assigned the duty as BLO for the voter roll revision on October 7. It was the first time that he was working as a BLO.

ALSO READ: Work Pressure, Unrealistic Deadlines: What’s Behind BLO Deaths, Suicide Claims And Resignations During SIR 2.0 | Explained

On Sunday, his body was found inside his house. The police had said that he had hanged himself in the storage room of his home here in Baheri village because of work pressure.

Providing details about the incident, the police said that around 4 am, Sarvesh's wife, Babli, found her husband's body hanging.

A suicide note was recovered from the site, in which Sarvesh confessed to feeling suffocated and said there was not enough time for the job he had been given.

Speaking about the case, Circle Officer (Thakurdwara) Ashish Pratap Singh said, "BLO Sarvesh Singh has committed suicide and has left behind a suicide note stating that he is unable to cope with the burden of BLO duty. His body has been sent for post-mortem". "Besides his wife, the couple's four daughters survive him," he added.

Under phase II, the SIR of electoral rolls is underway in several states, including Uttar Pradesh. Since its commencement, the behemoth exercise seems to have taken a toll on many government workers, who are roped in to weed out inaccuracies and prepare voter lists with only genuine voters.

ALSO READ: SIR Deaths: 5 BLOs Die By Suicide Due To Alleged Workload, Mental Fatigue; Oppn Seeks EC Response

The cases of deaths and suicides related to work pressure have cropped up across states, including in UP, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, among others.

Earlier on Saturday, a 42-year-old BLO engaged in the SIR collapsed at his home in Rajasthan's Dholpur and died.

The BLO, identified as Anuj Garg, collapsed late Saturday night while he was uploading voter data. His family alleged he had been working under extreme pressure, police said. 

(With PTI Inputs)

Disclaimer: If you or anyone you know needs help, please reach out to one of these helpline numbers: 022-27546669 (Aasra, Mumbai), +91 44 2464 0050 (Sneha, Chennai), 011-23389090, (Sumaitri, Delhi), 040-66202000 (Roshni, Hyderabad) , +91 11 41198666 (Sangath Tele-Counselling), 1800-599-0019 (Kiran), +918422984528, +91 8422984529 and +91 8422984530 (Samaritans), +91 8448440632 (Manodarpan), 14416 and 1800-891-4416 (Tele-MANAS)

Also In News