Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh | PTI | Updated: 05 Dec 2025

A 59-year-old primary school principal engaged as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Aligarh district died of a heart attack on Thursday, triggering allegations of workplace harassment and prolonged salary delays.

The deceased, Sadhna Verma, who was nearing retirement, passed away at her residence a month after she was deployed for BLO duties on November 4. Her family claimed she had completed her assigned tasks in Haivatpur Fagoi village, Koli tehsil, “without any issues.”

However, her son, Chetan Verma, alleged that the stress leading to her death stemmed not from her BLO responsibilities but from “persistent harassment” by the school’s vice-principal and certain officials in the state education department.

He further claimed that Verma had not received her salary for five months, despite multiple attempts to resolve the matter with authorities—an issue that had caused her “severe mental stress.”

Following the allegations, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Rakesh Kumar announced that a three-member probe committee has been constituted. As a preliminary action, the vice-principal Pooja Choudhry—accused of indiscipline and mental harassment—has been suspended pending inquiry.

The incident comes amid rising concerns over the health and workload of employees involved in the SIR exercise in Uttar Pradesh. The state has recently witnessed multiple stress-related deaths of BLOs and government staff.

On December 2, an assistant teacher on BLO duty in Hathras district died after collapsing at his home. His family blamed excessive work pressure. Earlier, on November 30, a 46-year-old BLO in Moradabad died by suicide, leaving behind a note alleging he had insufficient time to complete the tasks assigned to him.

Authorities are expected to review current deployment and workload protocols for BLOs in light of the recurring incidents.