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The Congress party in Kerala has alleged that Aneesh George, the booth level officer (BLO) from Kannur who died by suicide on Sunday, November 16, was under tremendous pressure from local leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Aneesh was the BLO of booth number 18 in Ettukudukka of the Payyannur Assembly constituency. He was allegedly pressured by the CPI(M) not to let the Congress’ booth level agent (BLA) accompany him when he visited houses to distribute voter enumeration forms as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. They did so with the intention of retaining fake, duplicated voters and deletions in the electoral roll, the Congress alleged.
Earlier, it was reported that Aneesh had died due to the stress related to the SIR process. Several BLOs across Kerala said that the demands on them are unrealistic and called for a change in the December 4 deadline set by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Following Aneesh’s death, BLOs across the state had declared a one-day strike. However, many had continued to work, citing the pending workload.
‘CPI(M) exerted pressure’
Kannur District Congress Committee (DCC) member Rajith Narath told TNM that the CPI(M) local leadership did not want the Congress BLA to accompany Aneesh so that invalid voters, including the deceased, those who shifted residences, or even duplicate entries, could be retained on the electoral rolls. According to Rajith, BLAs of both the Congress and the CPI(M) used to accompany Aneesh since the beginning of the SIR exercise.
“Kankol Alappadamba (the Grama Panchayat under which Ettukudukka falls) is a region that misuses democracy in the worst way possible. Except for CPI(M), no other party agents are allowed to be present in polling booths during elections. It's common for votes to be cast in the names of the dead or of people who are not present there,” Rajith said.
“One should also mention the positives of the SIR,” Rajith said, adding that with the revision of the electoral rolls, such names would be removed from the rolls. “After SIR, the deceased would naturally be removed from the voter rolls.”
There is also the case of duplication of votes, he alleged. “Some people have votes here in the Kankol Alappadamba panchayat as well as the neighbouring panchayat. They would fill in SIR forms in both places.”
“When an agent from Congress or another party accompanies the BLO, they would point out that a certain person has passed, or that another person shifted residences years ago. The CPI(M) is not able to accept this, because they would lose those votes,” Rajith argued. “They fear electoral loss,” he alleged.
Phone call audio released
A day after his death, on November 17, the audio clip of a phone call purportedly between Aneesh and Congress booth level agent Vaishakh was released to the media by Kannur District Congress Committee (DCC) president Martin George.
In the call, Aneesh could be heard saying that he is under pressure not to let Vaishakh join him when he visited houses to distribute the forms.
“They are making a big issue. They are saying they will block [you],” Aneesh said, without mentioning who it was. Vaishakh replied that he should raise the issue with his higher authorities.
“They are telling you that they will block me, but Rafeek or anyone has not told me that yet. You should complain to your authorities; you are the one who will have issues,” Vaishakh could be heard saying. Rafeek is the name of a local committee member of the CPI(M).
“This is their area; they won’t let us be,” Aneesh replied to Vaishakh. The next day onwards, Vaishakh did not accompany Aneesh.
Rajith told TNM that following threats and pressure, the Congress urged Aneesh to file a complaint with the District Collector. “Aneesh filed a complaint with the Collector a couple of days before his death. No action was taken on it. But it's on the basis of the complaint that the Collector said that Aneesh’s death was not due to pressure from the officials but due to other external pressure,” Rajith said.
“CPI(M) leaders run an autocratic system in the area,” Rajith alleged.
According to Rajith, Aneesh’s family has chosen not to politicise his death, fearing repercussions for other family members.
Rajith also said there was a fear that youngsters working with the Congress would be harmed, and local Congress workers felt that the police investigation into Aneesh’s death was not being conducted impartially.
CPI(M) Kannur district secretary KK Ragesh rubbished the allegations. According to The Hindu, he said that while Aneesh’s death is tragic, misinterpretations of the incident for political gains must be recognised and rejected.
Meanwhile, the office of Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer said on Tuesday, November 18, “No linkage has been established between SIR-related duties and the unfortunate death of the BLO, as all possible support had been extended to the BLO during his duties. The cause of the suicide remains unclear pending further investigation.”
They also said that the enumeration work at the booth assigned to Aneesh had been progressing satisfactorily. “A total of 1,065 Enumeration Forms had been issued to him. Of these, 825 had been distributed, and 240 were shown pending on the portal, indicating a progress level of 77.46%. Upon verification by the Electoral Registration Officer on the morning of November 16, it was confirmed that only 50 forms remained to be physically distributed, as the other completed forms had already been delivered but had not been updated digitally.”
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (Tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.