A Booth Level Officer involved in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district has been hospitalised after suffering a brain stroke, an official said on Sunday.
The officer, Mehboob Rehman Mollah, is posted in the Mathurapur block of the Raidighi area. Officials said he complained of physical discomfort on Saturday night and was first taken to Diamond Harbour Hospital. As his condition worsened, he was later referred to a hospital in Kolkata.
The Trinamool Congress alleged that Mollah fell ill due to extreme work pressure linked to the Special Intensive Revision exercise. The party blamed the Election Commission and the BJP led central government for what it called “unbearable stress” imposed on booth level officers.
According to family members, Mollah had been continuously engaged in the SIR exercise since November 4 at booth number 110 of Mathurapur two block. They said he was working for more than 20 hours a day, balancing his duties as a school teacher and a booth level officer. The pressure reportedly increased after several voters under his booth received hearing notices.
The Trinamool Congress said in a post on X that the situation had crossed all limits. “In Raidighi, South 24 Parganas, Mahbub Rahman Mollah, a 52 year old school teacher and Booth Level Officer, collapsed under unbearable SIR pressure and suffered a brain stroke. Today, he is fighting for his life in a hospital,” the party said.
The party further alleged that continuous targets, fear and constant pressure broke him. “His family says the endless workload and ruthless pressure of this SIR exercise destroyed his health. BJP has blood on its hands, and Bengal will remember this,” the post said.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on January 12, raising concerns over the impact of the SIR exercise. In her letter, she claimed that the revision process had already led to 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and at least 17 cases of people falling sick and needing hospitalisation.
She attributed these incidents to fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload caused by what she described as an unplanned exercise by the Election Commission.
