Kannur: Aneesh George, a school attendant doubling up as a booth-level officer (BLO), was on Sunday found dead in a suspected case of suicide at his home in Ettukudukka, Kankol–Alappadamba grama panchayat near Payyannur. He was 41.

Aneesh was part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral roll for the Assembly election six months away. His family and local representatives said he had been under severe pressure to distribute enumeration forms and complete their scrutiny within the prescribed deadline.

Following his death, political leaders have called for the immediate suspension of SIR until the local body elections conclude in December.

Payyannur police said Aneesh was found hanging in his bedroom around 11 am. No suicide note was left behind. He is survived by his wife, a homemaker, and three school-going children — two daughters and a son. His parents, George Tharayil and Gracy George, are both retired schoolteachers.

“His mother hugged me and cried, saying he had been struggling with the compulsory house visits,” said Ettukudukka ward member Bindumol K G.

Aneesh had reportedly worked past 2 am the previous night, trying to finish the enumeration forms. He had confided to his family that he would be unable to complete the work on time. BLOs were required to visit every household and distribute forms before November 15.

Bindumol, who lives close by, said Aneesh had a sheltered upbringing and kept mostly to himself. He worked at the Aided Upper Primary School in Kunnaru near Ramanthali, 22 km from his home. “He would go to school, return, and stay indoors. He didn’t know many houses in the neighbourhood and really struggled with the BLO’s duty,” she said.

Veteran CPI(M) leader M V Jayarajan said the only pressure Aneesh faced was the “manufactured” timeline of completing SIR now, even though the Assembly election is six months away and local body elections are in progress. Supervisors, AEROs and EROs — who are above the BLOs — had warned employees that failure to finish the work could invite action from the Chief Electoral Officer, he said. The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is the statutory authority responsible for preparing and revising the electoral roll of a constituency.

Jayarajan said the State Election Commission has deployed 2.5 lakh employees for local body election duty in Kerala. By December 21, new governing bodies have to be in place. Of these employees, 35,000 have been diverted by the Chief Electoral Officer for SIR work for an election six months away. “One person is being asked to do two full-time jobs. That is the reality of SIR,” he said.

At a meeting held on Saturday, Jayarajan said, all political parties, except the BJP, told the State Chief Electoral Officer that employees were overloaded and SIR could wait until after the local body elections. “In the light of Aneesh’s death, the Chief Electoral Officer must ensure no other employee meets the same fate. The SIR should be kept at bay till the local body polls,” he said.

Congress leader Rijil Makkutty went a step further, alleging the CEO was pushing SIR to help the BJP open its account in Kerala. "Employees are overloaded only to see how the BJP can open its account. Aneesh is a victim of the cruel implementation of SIR,” he said. Except for the BJP, all parties oppose revising the Assembly voters’ list before the local body elections, he said.

Aneesh had completed 77% of the task
Kannur District Collector Arun K Vijayan said the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar has sought a report on the death of Aneesh George. “The police investigation is underway. Once I receive the police report, I will respond to the CEO,” he said.

Asked whether the BLO had been under pressure, the Collector said his preliminary enquiries did not indicate any such instance. “I spoke to the ERO, who is a deputy collector. Under him, the AERO, a tahsildar, and the supervisor, the village officer, are all involved. None of them had called him or set any target. The only communication was between him and the Village Field Assistant (VFA), who had checked if he needed any help,” he said.

The first round of SIR work involved distributing enumeration forms to households. Aneesh’s ward falls under the Payyannur Assembly segment, and he had completed 77 per cent of the distribution, said the collector. That was par for the course, he said. In the wider Payyannur segment, 90 per cent of enumeration forms had already been distributed.
“The collection of forms will begin only today and tomorrow,” he said.

After Saturday's all-party meeting, Kelkar said that 85 per cent of the enumeration forms have already been distributed in Kerala, and urged that the assistance of BLOs should be ensured for the distribution of enumeration forms. He also said that a special drive will be conducted for those who have not yet received the forms.