BLO ends life in Gujarat; family says death due to mental stress from SIR duty

A school teacher posted to work as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) allegedly ended his life in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on Friday, November 21, 2025, with his family leaving a note citing “mental stress and exhaustion” due to SIR in the electoral rolls as the reasons behind this extreme step.

Teacher Arvind Vadher died around 6.30 am at his home in Devli village in Kodinar taluka, an official said.

Vadher was a teacher at a government primary school in Kodinar’s Chhara village and was recently posted as BLO in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

In the note allegedly written to his wife, Vadher blamed the SIR post for taking the excessive step.

“It is impossible for me to do this SIR job anymore. I have been feeling exhausted and mentally stressed for the last few days. Please take care of our son… I have no option but to take this step,” Vadher said in the note. he said.

Gir Somnath Collector and District Election Officer NV Upadhyay said police are investigating the death from all angles.

He said Vadher’s death was shocking because he was one of the ‘best-performing BLOs’ in the region and had completed more than 40% of his work.

Following the incident, a delegation from the Gujarat Rajya Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, the government’s primary teachers’ association, met election officials in Gandhinagar and made a presentation on the problems faced by teachers working as BLO.

On Thursday, a school teacher working as a BLO in Kheda district of the state died of heart attack and his family attributed his death to “extreme work pressure” linked to the ongoing SIR in the electoral rolls.

BLO Rameshbhai Parmar (50), a resident of Jambudi village in Kapadvanj taluka of Kheda, died of heart attack in his sleep at his home on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

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