BLO’s body found in Bengal, work-related pressure alleged; SIR anxiety claimed over 50 lives: TMC
Kolkata (PTI): A Booth Level Officer (BLO) was found dead in West Bengal's Bankura district on Sunday, triggering allegations that work-related pressure linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may have played a role, police said.
The incident occurred in Ranibandh block, where the body of the deceased, Haradhan Mandal, was recovered from a school premises on Sunday morning. The police said they found a “suicide note”.
Accusing the BJP of 'bulldozing' the SIR process, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that over 50 lives have been lost "to panic, anxiety, exhaustion and fear engineered by a voter-cleansing operation designed for BJP's electoral gain".
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"Mandal was a schoolteacher by profession and served as the BLO of Booth No. 206 under the Rajakata area of Ranibandh block," a police officer said.
According to the officer, a note bearing the deceased's signature was recovered from the spot, in which he reportedly referred to being unable to cope with work pressure as a BLO.
"We have seized the note and sent the body for post-mortem examination," he said.
The police initiated an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to Mandal's death. Officials said all angles are being examined.
Abhishek Banerjee, in an X post, accused the BJP of 'bulldozing' the SIR process.
"The death toll keeps mounting as another BLO appointed and engaged by the @ECISVEEP has taken his own life under the inhuman pressure of a hurried, chaotic and politically motivated SIR process,” he claimed.
Alleging that the BLO “died by suicide", Banerjee claimed that Mandal, in his suicide note, held the “inhuman nature of the task” responsible for his decision.
“What should have been a methodical process has instead been bulldozed through by a pliant, complicit Election Commission, bending its spine to serve the political arithmetic of one party and the ego of one man,” he said.
“And as for the BJP, if people drop dead from fatigue, despair or terror, it is an acceptable collateral cost, a convenient footnote in their power play," Banerjee, the de facto number two in the TMC hierarchy, said in the X post.
West Bengal will neither forgive nor forget, he said, adding: “History is watching.”
The SIR exercise began in the state on November 4.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
