A fresh controversy has erupted in West Bengal after a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker was arrested in connection with the suicide of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Murshidabad. Police confirmed on Tuesday that the accused TMC worker had allegedly failed to return a loan of Rs 20 lakh to the deceased BLO, which drove him into severe mental distress. The incident has triggered political tremors especially after the local Trinamool leadership initially linked the death to SIR-related pressure and even staged protests outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata.
Police probe points to loan default and threats
The accused, identified as Bullet Khan from the Ranitala police station area, was arrested on Monday after investigators traced the case back to a major loan issue. The deceased BLO was identified as Hamimul Islam (47) -- a resident of Alaipur village under Bhagwangola Block II. He was found dead inside a school on Saturday night (January 10). According to the police, Khan had borrowed Rs 20 lakh from Islam but allegedly refused to return it. The police said Khan even threatened to kill Islam when he demanded repayment. The mounting pressure and fear reportedly pushed the BLO to take the extreme step, they said.
Khan sent to police custody
A case has been registered against Khan on charges of abetting suicide. Following his arrest, Khan was produced before the Lalbagh sub-divisional court, which remanded him to five days of police custody.
BLOs protest over deaths, stress during SIR
Earlier on Monday, a section of BLOs staged a protest in front of the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, alleging that the EC has remained indifferent to the deaths of several BLOs during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. The protesters were members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee. They claimed that BLOs across the state have been under "tremendous mental and physical pressure" ever since the revision exercise began, with the workload taking a serious toll on their health.
They alleged that several officers had "broken down during training programmes" due to stress linked to tight deadlines, extensive field verification, and scrutiny of large volumes of data. The agitating BLOs also cited reports of multiple deaths of officers in different districts since the revision process started, a development that has triggered concern in both administrative and political circles.
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