Kolkata, Nov 22: Another Booth Level Officer (BLO) died in West Bengal on Saturday, allegedly due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) related work pressure, said the police on Saturday.

The incident comes three days after a female BLO in the Mal Bazar area of Jalpaiguri district in Bengal died, allegedly over the same reason.

This time, a female BLO hanged herself in the Shasthitala area of Krishnanagar in Nadia district.

The deceased has been identified as Rinku Tarafdar (51). According to the police, a suicide note has been recovered from her room.

The police said the woman wrote in that suicide letter that administrative pressure would come to her if she did not complete the work of a BLO.

“I can’t handle the pressure,” the female BLO allegedly wrote in the suicide letter, according to the police.

She has also blamed the Election Commission for her death.

Police said Rinku Tarafdar was a part-time teacher at Swami Vivekananda Vidya Mandir in Nadia district’s Chapra police station area. She was working as a BLO in the Bangaljhi area.

At the same time, Rinku wrote that no one in her family was responsible for her death.

Blaming the Election Commission for her death, the BLO also wrote, “The Election Commission is responsible for my fate. I do not support any political party. I am a very ordinary person. But I cannot bear the pressure of this inhuman work. I am a part-time teacher. The salary is very low compared to the hard work. But, they did not spare me.”

A senior officer of Krishnanagar Police District said, “The body of a female BLO was found hanging. A suicide note has been recovered. She blamed the Election Commission for her death as she could not bear the pressure related to SIR work. A case of unnatural death has been registered. The body has been recovered and sent for autopsy.”

On Wednesday, a female BLO identified as Shanti Muni Ekka died by “suicide” due to alleged work pressure during the SIR exercise in the state. The incident took place in the Mal Bazar area in Jalpaiguri. The family of the woman alleged that she decided to end her life as she could not bear the pressure of SIR work.

Following the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lambasted the Election Commission of India over the “suicide” of a female BLO.

Using her social media handles, CM Banerjee claimed that about 28 people have died in the state since the Election Commission began the SIR of Bengal’s electoral rolls.

The West Bengal Chief Minister also asked the ECI to halt this “unplanned drive” to save lives in the state.

On the same day, another female BLO named Tapati Biswas suffered a cerebral attack in the middle of SIR-related work in Hooghly district’s Konnagar area. The day after, she was relieved of her election duty following her cerebral attack.

On Friday, the West Bengal government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of deceased BLO Shanti Muni Ekka in Jalpaiguri and Rs 1 lakh for BLO Tapati Biswas in Hooghly.

Meanwhile, a compensation of Rs 2 lakh was also announced for the family of BLO Lalit Adhikari, who died in a road accident on Thursday. He was a resident of the Baradham Chatragram area in the Cooch Behar district. The compensations were handed over to the families by district officials.

Mumbai: A sessions court has convicted Guljar alias Chand Shaikh, a resident of Antop Hill, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after he stabbed Imtiaz alias Raju, who was trying to intervene and resolve a scuffle. The victim succumbed to multiple stab injuries.

The court held that since there was no intention to kill, charges of murder cannot be invoked. It observed, “the act of the accused does not fall under section 302 IPC, as the intention to cause death is not established beyond reasonable doubt. However, the accused had the knowledge that their act was likely to cause death.”

Shaikh has been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, while his siblings Fatima, Sadam, Arif and their mother Sabira have been awarded three years’ rigorous imprisonment each for the same offence.

The case, registered with Ghatkopar police in 2015 by the deceased’s brother Abdul Khan, stemmed from an extramarital affair between Jafar Kadar Ali Sayyad and Fatima. On March 12, 2015, a quarrel erupted; Fatima’s brothers assaulted Jafar, Fatima threw chilli powder, and when Imtiaz tried to pacify the situation, Chand stabbed him. Days earlier, on March 8, 2015, Chand had threatened Jafar and Imtiaz.

Relying on eyewitness testimonies, the court convicted the family but ruled out murder charges.

Mumbai: The Mahim police have registered an FIR against former and current office-bearers of the Saraswati Mandir Education Trust, Senapati Bapat Road, Mahim (West), along with the proprietor of two private consultancy firms, for allegedly collecting Rs 75.50 lakh to secure CBSE affiliation for Class 9 and 10 and committing fraud.

The accused have been identified as former and current secretary Sanjay Kashinath Sukhtankar, 69, former committee member Mangesh Narayan Rajadhyaksh, 67, former trustee Anil Pai Kokade, 77, former chairman Vinay Bhagwant Rege, 79, and Anupama Khetan, 43, proprietor of Paribhasha Educational Services and Shashwat Solutions.

According to the FIR, complainant Dr. Manohar Sanjeev Kamat, 71, a medical practitioner and former vice-president of the institution (2015–2020), alleged that the school management decided nearly a decade ago to begin a CBSE section and reserved one school building for this purpose. Classes were conducted up to Class 8 with state government permission, but CBSE affiliation is mandatory for Classes 9 and 10.

In 2018, when the first batch reached Class 8, an application for CBSE affiliation was submitted. However, some committee members later claimed that the school did not meet CBSE’s infrastructure norms, making approval unlikely.

Two management committee members Mangesh Narayan Rajadhyaksh and Mohan Nerulkar, along with trustee Anil Pai Kakode allegedly informed the board that Anupama Khetan, proprietor of Paribhasha Educational Services and Shashwat Solutions, could “facilitate” the approval as she was an “agent” experienced in securing CBSE affiliation. They also suggested that bribes might need to be paid to senior CBSE officials.

Then-secretary Sanjay Sukhtankar allegedly supported this proposal. On their recommendation, the management allegedly issued a cheque for Rs 30 lakh to Khetan, formalised through an MoU for account and audit purposes. Six months later, Khetan allegedly began paperwork for the affiliation process and arranged visits by CBSE inspection officials.

Later, she allegedly demanded an additional Rs 30 lakh via cheque and Rs 15 lakh in cash for “service charges”. Committee members informed Dr. Kamat that these payments were approved, and minutes of the management meeting on 17 August 2020 recorded the decision to pay her Rs 15 lakh in cash. However, no such entry appeared in the audit report, indicating the cash payment was made off the books.

Despite these payments, in March 2022, CBSE formally rejected the school’s affiliation request. A newly appointed committee in December 2021 also reviewed the matter and reapplied, but without success.

In February 2022, Khetan was called for discussions, during which it emerged that she had allegedly taken a total of Rs 75 lakh from the institution, but no substantive work had been carried out. Dr. Kamat submitted a written complaint to the new management demanding an inquiry into corruption and misuse of funds. When no action was taken, he approached the Mahim Police and the Charity Commissioner.

Following an inspection initiated by the Charity Commissioner, the inquiry officer noted that audit reports showed Rs 21.60 lakh (2019–20) and Rs 53.92 lakh (2020–21) recorded as “professional fees”. Since inquiry officers are not audit experts, the complainant was advised to seek a special audit through appropriate legal channels.

Based on Dr. Kamat’s complaint and subsequent findings, the Mahim police have registered a case under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) against the accused office-bearers and Anupama Khetan. The matter remains under investigation.