A 46-year-old man d!ed by su!cide at his home in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, citing work pressure related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, police in India said. Over the past few weeks, several Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) have allegedly d!ed by suicide, blaming excessive workload and pressure from senior officials. This has fuelled a political storm as voter roll revision continues across 12 states, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The victim, identified as Sarvesh Singh, a Booth-Level Officer, 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 su!cide, shows the officer overcome with grief, breaking down in tears as he says he was unable to finish his job despite working hard. In the video, he apologises to his mother and sister, and pleads with them to take care of his young daughters. In the distressing video, the man was seen sobbing uncontrollably and saying, Mother, please take care of my daughters. 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 havent 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. Addressing his sister, he added, I am going far away from this world. Sorry, sister. In my absence, please take care of my children. According to officials, early Sunday morning, Nov. 30, his wife Babli Devi found him hanging in the storage room of their home and immediately alerted the local police. A handwritten, two-page su!cide 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. My nights have become unbearable due to anxiety. I barely sleep for two to three hours. I have four daughters, two of whom are unwell. Please forgive me, the note read. Senior police officer Ashish Pratap Singh confirmed the contents of the suicide note and said, The note states that he could not cope with the burden of BLO duty. Further legal proceedings are underway. 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 de@th and praised the teachers work ethic. Preliminary information suggests he d!ed by su!cide. His quality of work was excellent. Anganwadi employees were deployed to assist him. Both administrative and police probes are underway. We will extend every possible support to the family, he said. On Sunday, the Election Commission of India extended the SIR schedule by a week, giving voters additional time to ensure their names are correctly included in the electoral rolls. Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth-Level Agents (BLAs) have also been given an additional seven days to submit lists of absent, shifted, deceased, and duplicate voters. See video below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NEWS9 (@news9live)
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