BLOs boycott SIR work across Kerala after officer’s suicide

Kerala government employees stage protest outside the Election Commission office over suicide of a Booth Level Officer. Pic/PTI

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Kerala was affected across the state on Monday as Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) boycotted work following the suicide of an officer allegedly due to work strain. Aneesh George, 44, a BLO in Payyannur, Kannur, was found hanging at his house on Sunday.

Family members and residents alleged that he took the extreme step because of work-related pressure. Various trade unions of state government employees, including the Action Council of State Government Employees and Joint Committee of Teacher Service Organisations, held protests at the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Thiruvanathapuram and district collectorates, demanding that authorities refrain from exerting excessive pressure on BLOs and consider postponing the SIR.

The Kerala NGO Association also staged protests across the state, demanding that SIR procedures be stopped to prevent further suicides. Meanwhile, the body of George was handed over to his relatives after the postmortem on Monday.

George's family reiterated that he had been under severe work pressure related to the SIR. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said that a preliminary probe indicated that the role of CPI(M) workers in George's suicide should also be examined.

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