In Kerala, political storm simmers over BLO suicide in midst of SIR process

His death triggered protests from the CPI(M) and the Congress, which have demanded postponing the SIR process until the third week of December, after the local body elections are over. On Monday, BLOs kept away from work in the wake of the suicide.

Congress state president Sunny Joseph on Monday alleged: “For having taken the Congress booth level agent for distributing the enumeration forms, George was threatened by the agent of the CPI(M). This had aggravated his tension. He had shared this with the Congress booth agent. The CPI(M) booth agent told George that if he took the Congress agent for house-to-house visits, he would complain to the authorities. This threat pushed him to take the extreme step. A detailed probe should be held.”

The KPCC president said Congress would approach the Supreme Court, demanding that SIR be postponed. Last week, the Kerala High Court refused to entertain a government plea seeking to postpone the SIR, stating that it is free to move the Supreme Court where similar petitions are pending.

The CPI(M) MLA representing Payyanur assembly constituency said the Congress allegation against the party is puerile. “Booth-level agents of parties can accompany the BLO for house visits. Apart from that, they have no role in the process. The allegation against the party is politically motivated. BLO George was under pressure to complete the process, and distribution in his booth was lagging. This had put extra pressure on him,” claimed the MLA, T I Madhusoodanan.

Meanwhile, in his report on the suicide, Kannur district collector Arun K Vijayan, who is also the district electoral officer, indicated that the BLO was not under any work pressure.

The collector, in the report, said 1,065 enumeration forms had been issued to Aneesh George for distribution. Of this, 825 had been distributed and 240 were shown pending on the portal. Upon verification by the Electoral Registration officer on November 16, it was found that only 50 forms remained to be distributed. The rest of the forms had been distributed, but were not digitally updated, the report states.

On November 15, a village field officer accompanied Aneesh as instructed by the electoral registration officer and no signs of distress were reported, it states. His work was consistent with the district and the constituency levels. The electoral officer and the additional electoral officer confirmed that no pressure or adverse instructions were communicated to any BLO, including the deceased, the report states. On Sunday morning, when the booth-level supervisor enquired whether any assistance was required for the remaining work, Aneesh said that he would complete the work himself, it states, adding that police have not recovered any suicide note.