West Bengal BLOs protest after 8 colleagues die during voter list drive
Block Level Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal staged a protest outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office, saying the Election Commission has ignored the deaths of eight BLOs since a major voter list update began on November 4, 2025.
Protesters described breaking down from stress during training, blaming tight deadlines and heavy data checks.
Why does it matter?
BLOs say their workload has become overwhelming, with some handling SIR duties on top of regular jobs.
This pressure reportedly led to tragic cases like Samprita Choudhury Sanyal's death from stress and headmaster Hamimul Islam's suicide.
They're asking for lighter workloads and fair compensation.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pushing to pause the SIR process, calling it flawed and unfair as elections approach.