In a shocking and tragic incident, a government school teacher deputed for the ongoing caste, social and economic survey was found dead in a lake under mysterious circumstances near Aipalli village in KGF taluk. The deceased, Akhtari Begum (53), is suspected to have taken her own life, allegedly due to unbearable work pressure from the caste enumeration drive, sparking outrage among teachers’ unions and opposition parties, who have accused the government of gross mismanagement and exploitation of teaching staff.
Begum, a resident of Mahalaxmi Layout in Kolar city, had been assigned survey duties in Narasapura village while teaching at KB Hosahalli government school. According to family and colleagues, she had been under tremendous mental stress for weeks due to mounting targets and long hours imposed during the ongoing statewide caste census. She had reportedly been tasked with collecting data from 132 households and had completed about 60-70 per cent of the enumeration, covering nearly 85 homes.
Police sources said Begum had not reported to work for the past three days. On the morning of October 13, she left home quietly, leaving behind her phone and jewellery, taking only her official ID card. She told her son she was heading to school and asked to be dropped off at the bus stand. That was the last time she was seen alive.
Investigations later revealed that Begum had called a friend, Geetha, from Bethamangala, asking if the local lake was full of water, a question that now appears chilling in hindsight. Later that afternoon, the police recovered her body from the Aipalli lake, confirming her death.
Her colleagues expressed shock, blaming the state government’s caste survey policy for her death. “The workload is inhuman. Teachers are being forced to complete large chunks of data collection with no rest or support. Begum was a determined woman, not someone who would end her life easily,” said her colleague Savitha, alleging that government negligence led to the tragedy.
Another teacher, Jayashree, echoed this sentiment, saying, “The pressure on teachers is unbearable. Officials are using threats of disciplinary action to meet survey targets. The government is exploiting educators under the name of social justice.”
Authorities, however, have been quick to deny any connection between the death and the caste survey. Additional Deputy Commissioner Mangala and Tahsildar Nayana, who visited the mortuary, claimed that preliminary reports point to personal distress or family issues, rather than official work-related stress. But teachers’ associations have rubbished the claim, demanding a judicial probe and immediate compensation for Begum’s family.
The incident comes amid a series of deaths and medical emergencies linked to the gruelling statewide caste census, which the Congress government has aggressively pushed despite growing backlash. Recently, another teacher reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest during survey duty in Bengaluru, raising alarms about the intense field pressure.
