Two Teachers Die In Madhya Pradesh During Voter List Revision; Families Blame Extreme Work Pressure

Two teachers-cum-Booth Level Officers (BLOs) engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls died in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, while their families blamed heavy workload and pressure to meet enumeration deadlines. According to PTI, similar concerns have emerged in other states, with colleagues and relatives alleging that the demands of the revision exercise have taken a severe toll on field staff.

The two BLOs who died late on Friday were identified as Ramakant Pandey and Sitaram Gond (50), posted in Raisen and Damoh districts respectively. A third BLO in Raisen, Narayan Das Soni, has been missing for six days.

Sub-divisional officer and electoral registration officer of the Bhojpur Assembly constituency, Chandrashekhar Shrivastava, told PTI that Pandey, a teacher from the Satlapur area working on the voter list revision in Mandideep, “died late Friday night due to some illness.” Officials are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the exact cause of death.

Shrivastava said the missing BLO, Soni, a teacher residing in Bhavya City, left home without informing anyone and has not been located since. Police and family members are searching for him.

Pandey’s wife, Rekha, and other relatives told officials he was posted at the primary school in Tilakhedi and had been assigned voter list duties. They said he had been struggling with a heavy workload, forced to work late into the night every day. They claimed he received constant instructions over the phone to meet deadlines and that he “feared suspension if targets were unmet and had not slept for the past four nights.”

Family members said he joined an online meeting around 9.30 pm on Thursday and collapsed after going to the bathroom. They said he was taken to Noble Hospital in Bhopal and later shifted to AIIMS, where doctors declared him dead.

Shrivastava said Pandey’s family would receive assistance and a compassionate appointment as per rules.

In Damoh, District Education Officer S. K. Nema told PTI that Gond, a teacher serving as BLO in Ranjra village, “fell ill on Thursday evening while filling enumeration forms.” PTI reported that he was taken to the district hospital in Damoh and later referred to Jabalpur for advanced treatment, where he died on Friday night.

Gond’s friends said he had been assigned enumerator duties in Ranjra and Kuda Kudan villages and was supposed to cover 1,319 voters. He had completed only 13 per cent of the work and was under pressure to finish the remaining lists.

Earlier, BLO Shyam Sundar Sharma was killed in a road accident in Tendukheda under the Jabera Assembly segment of Damoh district. His family alleged he was under severe pressure due to SIR work and had been threatened with suspension.

Separate reports from Gujarat, Kerala and other states have also documented additional BLO deaths during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision. In several of these cases, families or colleagues have alleged excessive workload, while investigations are still underway. Media tallies differ across outlets, and some of the deaths have been reported as suspected suicides, but no consolidated nationwide figure has been officially confirmed.

Officials in Madhya Pradesh said inquiries are ongoing, and the missing BLO in Raisen has not yet been traced.

(With inputs from PTI)