55-yr-old BLO dies in Murshidabad, family blames SIR ‘stress’
Times of India | 29 November 2025
Behrampore/Kolkata: Alleged strain over the Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal flared on Friday after a 55-year-old booth-level officer (BLO) died in Murshidabad, while two more fell seriously ill in South 24 Parganas.
Zakir Hossain (55), an assistant teacher working as a BLO for booth no. 14 under Khargram assembly constituency in Murshidabad, died after a cardiac arrest on Thursday night. His family alleged that he was struggling to upload voter data on a "partly functional" BLO app and could not cope with the stress. Locals rushed Hossain to Rampurhat Subdivision Hospital but doctors declared him brought dead.
With Hossain's death, the total number of BLO deaths in Bengal touched four, while 14 are hospitalized. Two of them, both women, had hanged themselves.
Hossain's daughter Jamila Khatun said: "The immense pressure is the main cause of my father's death. I talked to him even on Thursday morning. He told me there are around 750 voters, and he could upload around 500. Higher-level officers as well as voters were putting pressure on him."
Relatives claimed Hossain was under "tremendous pressure" juggling SIR duties and regular teaching work. The strain increased, they alleged, because the primary school authorities refused to relieve Hossain despite repeated requests, forcing him to manage both responsibilities simultaneously.
Hossain's elder son Emdadul said his father was "over-pressured as the server became slow, and problems appeared in uploads from Wednesday evening. He was doing the work at midnight for some days".
Local Trinamool MLA and Murshidabad DPSC chairman Ashis Marjit said: "The central govt and especially ECI are responsible for the BLO's death."
Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahman also accused ECI and said: "The Election Commission must compensate the family. We are demanding a job for the deceased BLO's son."
Two more BLOs suddenly fell ill while carrying out SIR duties in South 24 Parganas.
Basudev Pramanik, a 48-year-old primary school teacher assigned to booth no. 864 of Magrahat Block–I, suddenly felt uneasy. Sweating profusely, Pramanik's hands started trembling and he slumped on the spot. He was immediately taken to Diamond Harbour Subdivisional Hospital, where he is under treatment.
Shampa Pramanik, a relative, said Basudev had left home in the morning perfectly normal. "He was carrying water and some light tiffin with him. We didn't expect anything like this," she said.
In the third incident, Debashish Das, 57, the BLO of booth no. 276 in Namkhana, also fell seriously ill while on duty. He was first taken to two local hospitals and later shifted to SSKM Hospital after his condition deteriorated. His son, Saurav Das, said the incident occurred on Tuesday night. "He is stable now but it was a very difficult situation for us," he said.