A 53-year-old booth-level officer and primary school headmaster in West Bengal's Bankura district was found dead on Sunday morning in an apparent suicide, with a note left behind blaming immense pressure related to his electoral duties.
Details of the Tragic Incident
Haradhan Mondal, locally known as Haru Master, was discovered hanging inside the Rajakata Majherpara Primary School. He served as the BLO for booth number 206 in the Ranibandh assembly constituency. According to his wife, Mala, he left their home at 10 am, stating he needed to collect documents from voters summoned for SIR (Summary Revision of Electoral Roll) hearings.
Mala informed the police that the SIR process had been taking a severe physical and mental toll on her husband. "He was very tense and didn't even eat dinner properly. He spent the last few nights sleepless," she told reporters. His parting words were, "I am going for SIR work, not sure when I'll return."
The Suicide Note and Its Implications
A handwritten note found at the scene pointed directly to the stress of his official responsibilities. It read, "I cannot take this pressure anymore, farewell... I am responsible for this BLO work. No one else is involved. The mistake is mine." Mondal also wrote, "I trusted no one. Even after doing everything right, I made a mistake. Forgive me."
Local police confirmed they are investigating the death and await the postmortem report for further details.
Political Fallout and Accusations
The tragedy quickly ignited a political firestorm. Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took to social media platform X to accuse the BJP of "bulldozing" the SIR process. He blamed the "inhuman pressure of a hurried, chaotic and politically motivated SIR process" for the death.
In his post, Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission of India had become "pliant and complicit," bending to serve the interests of one political party. He further claimed that for the BJP, such deaths were an "acceptable collateral cost." His post ended with a strong warning: "Bengal will neither forgive nor forget and History is watching."
The incident highlights the intense pressure on grassroots election officials during revision processes and has brought the SIR exercise under sharp scrutiny.
