SIR: Noida Admin Files FIRs Against BLOs for Alleged Negligence

New Delhi: While several cases of alleged suicide of booth-level officers (BLOs) have been reported from across the country in connection with the work pressure related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls – in which the responsibility for verifying elector details has been placed squarely on BLOs – the Noida administration has filed a series of FIRs against BLOs over alleged negligence during the exercise. The action comes under the watch of district magistrate Medha Roopam, who is also the district election officer. Roopam, incidentally, is the daughter of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

According to officials, the current revision phase requires BLOs not only to distribute and collect forms but also to match new elector details with older electoral records of electors or their parents, The Indian Express reported. The Election Commission has fixed December 4 as the deadline to complete the process.

The Noida administration has registered FIRs against over 60 BLOs and seven supervisors across three police stations under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, citing negligence and disobedience. Acting on DM Roopam’s orders, sub-divisional magistrates of the three Noida constituencies lodged four FIRs.

Two FIRs filed in Dadri name 18 individuals, including 12 anganwadi workers and government school teachers in one, and six supervisors in another. In Greater Noida’s Ecotech Phase 1 police station, an FIR lists 33 BLOs and one supervisor, while in Jewar, another FIR names 17 BLOs. Each FIR was lodged by the area SDM functioning as the local electoral registration officer. A statement from the DM’s “War Room” said the action followed Election Commission instructions, adding that several officials had repeatedly failed to report to their assigned areas despite warnings and notices.

DM Roopam later held a review meeting directing sector- and zone-level magistrates to ensure “effective, transparent and time-bound” completion of the tasks, warning that delays could trigger notices, salary withholding and disciplinary action, IE reported. 

Also read: SIR Experiences: We Can't Find Our Names in the 2002-03 Voter Rolls

In Bahraich, two BLOs – headmistress Shama Nafees and assistant teacher Anurag – were suspended after the Basic Shiksha Adhikari Ashish Kumar Singh said the two had ignored written instructions and calls to report for SIR duties. A third BLO, Abhishek Singh, has been booked following a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ankit Kumar Singh, who alleged that the BLO used objectionable language during a phone call regarding SIR form distribution.

Police have registered a case at Visheshnwarganj police station under sections related to insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, criminal intimidation, and defamation. According to the complainant, the incident damaged the reputation of the party and its leader. Police said the complainant has submitted call recordings and text messages as evidence, as per the IE report.

As per a report published in Navbharat Times, SDM Rituraj Singh Bisen in Pathalgaon developmental block in Vikas Khand area in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district has felicitated BLO Rajni Nag for completing the SIR exercise. 

Meanwhile, the Election Commission, in a press release issued from Kottayam, said it had taken prompt cognisance of an audio message circulating on social media in which a BLO expressed stress related to SIR duties. The commission said chief electoral officer Rathan Kelkar and district collector Chethan Kumar Meena held a video conference with the concerned BLO, Antony Varghese of Booth No. 110 under Poonjar LAC, to address his concerns. 

Also read: Two BLOs Die by Suicide in Kerala and Rajasthan Amid SIR Process, Allegedly Citing Work Pressure

According to the EC, Varghese later conveyed his willingness to continue working and was also offered the option to discontinue SIR duties if he preferred. Following the call, local officials visited him and concluded that he had been carrying out his responsibilities “in an exemplary manner.” Additional personnel have since been assigned to support him, and Varghese has confirmed he wishes to continue his duties.

Across the country, several alleged suicides of BLOs have been reported in recent weeks, including in West Bengal, with officials linking the incidents to stress and pressure associated with the SIR exercise. While investigations are still underway in many of these cases, the reports have intensified concerns over workload, official expectations, and the broader conditions under which BLOs are carrying out the ongoing revision exercise.

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