BLO commits suicide in TN; Kin alleges work pressure

CHENNAI: A booth level officer (BLO) engaged in special intensive revision (SIR) committed suicide. The incident happened at Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu. She has been identified as Jahita Beegum (38) of Tirukoilur. She was working as a village assistant. She was found hanging at home. Her relatives and colleagues cited workload and pressure from political leaders as the cause of her death.

Jahitha was engaged in distributing enumeration forms in Sivanarthangal as part of the SIR. However, she could digitize only 35 forms. Her husband Mubarak said that local DMK leaders and superiors reprimanded Jahitha for this. Jahitha collected 90 forms the other day and was able to digitize only 35 of them. Mubarak said this is due to the slow internet speed at the local cafe. Her husband said Jahitha was trying to complete the remaining work at home and that she took the drastic step when he went out. The BLOs in Tamil Nadu had gone on strike the other day in protest against the workload. The woman died after this.