CHENNAI: A 37-year-old woman village assistant involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Kallakurichi district has died by suicide, prompting police to launch a detailed investigation.
According to a Daily Thanthi report, the deceased, Jakhitha Begum, lived in Sandaipettai near Tirukkovilur with her husband Mubarak, their daughter and son. She was working as a village assistant at the Sivanarthangal Village Administrative Office.
As part of the SIR of the electoral roll, she had been distributing verification forms to voters and collecting the completed documents over the past few days.
According to police, she went to work as usual on November 20. After completing her voter-related field duties, she returned home for lunch. While alone at home, she reportedly died by suicide by hanging from a swing chain.
A relative, Kadharbee, found her hanging and alerted neighbours. They rushed her to a private hospital in Tirukkovilur, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Her body was later shifted to the Kallakurichi Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
Her husband lodged a complaint with the Tirukkovilur police, alleging that the pressure of the intensive SIR voter list revision work had driven her to suicide, and sought a probe into the circumstances leading to her death.
Based on his complaint, police have registered a case and are investigating whether she died by suicide due to workload or if any other factors were involved.
Meanwhile, members of the Tamil Nadu Government Village Assistants’ Association held a protest on Friday in front of the Tirukkovilur Taluk Office, demanding justice for Jakhitha Begum and action against those responsible for the alleged work-related pressure.