Teacher in UP's Gonda commits suicide amid SIR duty Cong SP leaders join funeral

Jaunpur (UP), Nov 26 (PTI) A day after a government school teacher posted in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district allegedly died by suicide amid SIR duty, his funeral was held on Wednesday, officials said.
     The funeral which took place at his native village in Jaunpur witnessed protests by family members. Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders were also present.
    The body of 35-year-old Vipin Yadav, a resident of Malhani village in the Sarai Khwaja area, reached his home late on Tuesday night.
    The arrival of the body triggered anger among villagers. The family alleged harassment by local officials. Yadav was cremated on Wednesday afternoon after hours of persuasion by officials and public representatives.
    According to police, the deceased, who was deployed as a booth level officer (BLO) for SIR-related duty in Gonda, consumed poison on Tuesday morning. He was taken to a local hospital and later, shifted to the King George's Medical University in Lucknow, where he died.
    A video shot by his wife at the hospital, and now widely circulated on social media, shows the deceased alleging that the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), tehsildar and block development officer (BDO) were pressuring him to "cut votes of backward communities".
    Police said the deceased's wife has submitted a written complaint, which has been forwarded to the department concerned for legal action.
    Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai reached the village early on Wednesday, met the bereaved family and accused the state government and Election Commission of putting pressure on BLOs.
    "Because of such coercion, teachers are being forced to take their own lives. This is shameful," he said, demanding a fair probe and action against the officials named.
    SP district president Rakesh Maurya, former Uttar Pradesh minister Shailendra Yadav "Lalai" and several other party leaders also visited the family and sought a high-level inquiry, compensation for the dependents and punishment for those responsible.
    The deceased's brother-in-law, Prateek Yadav, claimed that the teacher had been distressed for days due to excessive workload and pressure linked to BLO duties.
    The family initially refused to perform the last rites, but after a three-hour discussion involving local representatives and officials, the cremation was conducted at Ram Ghat around 3 pm.
    SDM Sadar Satbir Singh and CO Sadar Devesh Kumar Singh remained at the spot with police deployment.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)