Moradabad : A 46-year-old Booth-Level Officer (BLO) allegedly died by suicide at his home in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, citing work pressure related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Over the past few weeks, more than several BLOs have allegedly died by suicide, blaming excessive workload and pressure from senior officials. This has fuelled a political storm as voter roll revision continues across 12 states.
The victim, identified as Sarvesh Singh, was an assistant teacher posted at a school and had been assigned BLO duty on October 7. It was his first-ever poll-related assignment. A BLO is the primary contact point for the public to help fill election-related forms and upload details to the designated databases. A video of Singh, purportedly recorded before his suicide, shows the officer overcome with grief, breaking down in tears as he says he was unable to finish his job despite working hard.
Please forgive me. I could not complete the task. I am going to take a drastic step. He also said that nobody should be blamed for his decision, and urged viewers not to question his family or ask them anything about the matter. I am in deep distress. I haven’t been able to sleep for the last 20 days. I have four young daughters. Others are able to complete the work, but I am not, he said, crying inconsolably in the video.
In my absence, please take care of my children”. His wife Babli Devi found him hanging in the storage room of their home and immediately alerted the local police. A handwritten, two-page suicide note, addressed to the district Basic Education Officer, was recovered from the spot. In the note, Singh expressed anguish over being unable to meet SIR targets within the limited timeframe. I have been working day and night but am unable to meet the SIR targets.
The family said Singh had been under immense stress due to continuous surveys, data verification, and frequent reporting cycles linked to the sprawling SIR exercise across Uttar Pradesh and other states. District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh acknowledged the death and praised the teacher’s work ethic. “Preliminary information suggests he died by suicide. His quality of work was excellent. Anganwadi employees were deployed to assist him.
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