A 26-year-old female village administration officer posted in SIR for electoral rolls was killed after a truck collided with her two-wheeler in Tumakuru district on July 4, police said on Sunday.
Revenue department employees staged night protests alleging that excessive work pressure led to her death.
The deceased, Bhuvana, was working as a supervisor of Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
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A native of Varadanayakanahalli village in Nelamangala taluk in Bengaluru Rural district, she sustained serious head injuries in the accident that occurred on Kunigal Road near Guluru and later died at Siddaganga Hospital.
According to her uncle Ramesh, she left home around 6.30 am for a field mission after attending a review meeting related to the Special Intensive Review (SIR) which reportedly continued till late on Friday night.
The incident sparked anger among Revenue Department employees, who staged a protest overnight outside the Tumakuru Deputy Commissioner’s office, alleging that sustained pressure from senior officials during the ongoing SIR exercise led to the tragedy.
The demonstrators demanded a fair investigation, action against those responsible, and a reduction in what they described as the excessive workload imposed on field staff.
Family members also blamed the intense work schedule for Bhuvana’s death.
Ramesh said she was under a lot of pressure due to her SIR duties.
“She left home yesterday saying that she is under tremendous pressure. We are not against the SIR programme, but employees should have fixed working hours. They have been made to work beyond reasonable limits and have been under enormous pressure to complete field visits. Too much responsibility has been placed on one employee, and this affects everyone in the department,” he said.
Recalling the family’s plans for her future, Ramesh said Bhuvana’s marriage was planned and her relatives had recently started looking for a suitable alliance.
“We had high hopes of finding a good family for her and marrying her off,” he said. “Instead, we were left to mourn this tragic loss.”
Revenue Department employees said they would intensify their agitation if appropriate action is not taken against those found responsible for subjecting employees to excessive work pressure while exercising SIR.
