Murshidabad BLO dies, family blames mental stress over voter list duty

A Booth Level Officer died of cardiac arrest in Hariharpara area of Murshidabad district, triggering serious allegations by her family against the administration. The deceased has been identified as Maya Mukherjee, a teacher at the Sripur Namupara Shishu Shiksha Kendra under Hariharpara police station limits.

Maya Mukherjee was also serving as the Booth Level Officer for booth number 251 in Sripur. According to her family members, she was reluctant to perform BLO duties but was allegedly compelled by the administration to take up the responsibility, following which she remained under continuous mental stress. Her son Rubel and relative Rekatullah Mandal claimed that multiple hearings were conducted at the booth during the ongoing voter list revision process. They alleged that Maya Mukherjee was deeply anxious that removal of any voter’s name could provoke anger among villagers, leading to possible attacks on her home or misbehavior towards her.

The family stated that the prolonged fear and mental pressure took a toll on her health, resulting in a cardiac arrest on Friday morning. They have held the administrative pressure responsible for her death, while the incident has raised concerns over the stress faced by field-level election officials.