West Bengal Election Officer Dies By Suicide Amid Claims of Unbearable Work Pressure

Shantimoni Ekka, who served as a booth level officer (BLO), was found deceased in the courtyard of her residence in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, in what appears to be a case of suicide.

The discovery of Ekka's body on Wednesday morning by family members has created significant tension throughout the district.

According to her family, Ekka had been experiencing mental distress for some time due to what they described as an overwhelming workload. They stated that the combination of continuous field duties, election-related responsibilities, and increasing pressure had become intolerable for her.

Her husband and child believe that this extreme workplace stress ultimately led her to take her own life.

Law enforcement officials have transported the body for post-mortem examination and initiated an investigation to ascertain the precise cause of death. The family's claims regarding "work pressure" have sparked considerable discussion throughout the area.

This incident coincides with Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti's visit to West Bengal to evaluate the progress of the special intensive revision (SIR) in the state.

The Election Commission of India team arrived on Tuesday to assess the SIR exercise in Kolkata North, South, and South 24 Parganas districts, with planned visits to Nadia and Murshidabad today. Notably, booth level officers across Bengal staged a protest on Monday against what they described as excessive workload and tight deadlines for completing the extensive SIR exercise in their assigned areas.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed profound grief regarding the BLO's death, stating, "Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri - an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began - some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload."

Banerjee further criticized the Election Commission, adding, "Such precious lives are being lost because of the unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the so-called Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took 3 years is now being forced into 2 months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost."