Rajasthan Election Officer Dies; Family Claims Work Overload Contributed to Death
A booth-level officer (BLO) in Rajasthan has died of a cardiac arrest, prompting his family to allege that intense work pressure related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls contributed to his death. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday in Dholpur.
Details of the Incident
Anuj Garg, the deceased BLO, was reportedly working until 1 am on Sunday when his health deteriorated. According to his sister, Vandana, Garg was under significant stress due to the demands of the SIR work. She stated, "He was doing SIR work at 1 am. He was under stress due to intense work pressure and felt uneasy. He asked me for tea, but even before I could make tea, he collapsed."
Garg, in his early 40s, was rushed to a hospital but could not be saved. His family claims he had been working long hours to meet the deadlines for his SIR-related tasks.
Official Responses
Lokendra Kumar Kshotriya, Gargโs supervisor, acknowledged that Garg was performing well and had completed a significant portion of his assigned work. "He was doing good work and had covered nearly 80% of the almost 1,100 voters he had been tasked with [reaching out to with enumeration forms]," Kshotriya said. He added that Garg had not complained about the workload and was expected to finish soon.
Another BLO, speaking anonymously, confirmed that Garg had expressed feeling pressured by the workload. "I met him just 2-3 days ago... All of us are under stress," the BLO said.
Dr. Samarveer Singh, Principal Medical Officer of Dholpur, stated that the preliminary cause of death appeared to be cardiac arrest. "He had been taking medicines for diabetes. And most probably, he died of a cardiac arrest. We have sent his viscera samples to the FSL (forensic science laboratory), where the exact cause of his death will be established," Singh said.
Amit Kumar Sharma, SHO of Nihalganj police station, confirmed that a postmortem examination had been conducted following Garg's collapse at around 1 am.
Background and Context
Anuj Garg was a government teacher working as a BLO in Dholpur districtโs booth number 158, under the Dholpur Assembly constituency. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The Election Commission of India recently extended the deadline for submitting enumeration forms in the ongoing SIR in nine states and three Union Territories from December 4 to December 11.
According to the Press Information Bureau, the SIR involves a massive effort with:
- Over 5.3 lakh BLOs
- 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs)
- 10,448 EROs/AEROs
- 321 DEOs
This encompasses 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies.
