Kasaragod BLO dies by suicide; family protests alleging work pressure, note cites personal reasons

Kasaragod: A schoolteacher who was also working as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) died by suicide after jumping into the Mogral river on Saturday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Muhammed Savad (31), son of Beeran Kunhi of Bayal House near Mogral Kadavath bridge, about 8 km from Kasaragod town on NH 66. He was a teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School, Cherkala.

According to police, between 7 am and 9.30 am, Savad parked his two-wheeler on the Mogral bridge and jumped into the river. Residents spotted him in the water, pulled him out and took him to Kasaragod General Hospital, where he died.

Soon after, relatives and neighbours gathered at the hospital and staged a protest, alleging that work pressure related to his duties as a BLO had pushed him to take the extreme step. They demanded that the District Collector arrive for talks and sought a comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances leading to his death.

As the protest gathered momentum, Returning Officer Binu Joseph told reporters that an inquiry would be conducted and the matter would be examined seriously. However, the relatives initially refused to accept the body until the collector arrived.

Meanwhile, Kasaragod town police registered a case of unnatural death and, during further investigation, recovered a suicide note from his house. “The note mentions only personal issues,” the Station House Officer said.

After the recovery of the note, which has not been made public, the relatives relented. "We accepted the body after the autopsy," said Savad’s maternal uncle, Ismail, on whose complaint the FIR was registered.

He said he was not aware of the contents of the note because he was at the station and the hospital. He, however, confirmed that protests had taken place at the hospital over alleged work pressure.