Lucknow, India – Harshit Verma believes his 50-year-old father, Vijay Kumar Verma, died because he was handling an “inhuman task”.

Vijay, a contractual government teacher in Lucknow, the capital of India’s Uttar Pradesh state, was hired as a booth-level officer (BLO) to conduct a revision of the voter list in his constituency, as part of an enormous electoral exercise involving millions of BLOs across the world’s most populous country.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

The exercise, called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), was launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on November 4, across 12 states and federally governed territories, to update the electoral rolls by adding eligible voters through house-to-house enumeration and removing ineligible people. The exercise will be repeated in the remaining states in phases.

According to a handbook for BLOs on the ECI’s website, their responsibilities range from doing house visits to identifying existing and dead voters, collecting their photos and other relevant documents, and uploading them on a designated portal. The BLOs, who are mostly government teachers or junior officials, have complained of their immense work pressure. A single mistake means the entire process of filling out the forms and uploading them has to be done again.

A report last week by the Spect Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, said at least 33 BLOs have died across India since November 4, at least nine of whom took their own lives and left desperate accounts of their work pressure in their suicide notes.

Vijay did not die by suicide. He collapsed on November 14 while completing SIR work late at night at his home in Lucknow’s Sarava village, and was rushed to hospital. He died of a brain haemorrhage 10 days later.

“Since he had joined the BLO duty, his phone continuously rang. We saw him working from morning till late night,” Vijay’s sister-in-law, Shashi Verma, told Al Jazeera.

A photo of Vijay Kumar Verma, a booth-level officer who died of a brain haemorrhage, at his home near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh [Sumaiya Ali/Al Jazeera]

Harshit, 20, said he had read text messages sent by district officials to his father, repeatedly telling him to do more work or “face consequences”.

“Quickly complete 200 forms. If it’s less than that, you will be charged,” he recalled one of the messages as saying.

“We have received no support from the government,” Harshit told Al Jazeera, as he stood with his mother, Sangeeta Rawat, outside the Lucknow offices of the Samajwadi Party, an opposition party supporting their protest.

“The senior district magistrate visited us after my father’s death, but only paid condolences and told me to focus on my studies,” he said.

‘Barely two hours of sleep every day’

Al Jazeera spoke to two other BLOs in Lucknow who refused to reveal their identities over fears it could invite the wrath of the government and jeopardise their jobs.

“I have been functioning with barely two hours of sleep every day. On many days, I didn’t even sleep at all,” said a 45-year-old BLO who works as a teacher at a government school in Lucknow.

Another BLO, also a teacher at a village school in the same district, said her phone numbers have been made public and her devices now ring at odd hours. “People call me late at night and ask me to correct their details or find if their name is in another list,” she said.

The BLO said that most people in villages do not keep an electronic version of their documents, unlike residents in cities. “Quite often, when we visit these villagers to collect their details, they would take a long time going through their trunks or cupboards to find their papers. It is a common problem.”

She said BLOs return to their homes in the evening after a long day of work and continue to upload forms online until late into the night. “Quite often, the server does not work, and I upload forms at 4 in the morning to avoid this issue,” the 35-year-old said.

“I would get worried that my mobile phone’s battery will run out, so I would always keep plugging it in to charge whenever possible,” she added.

The BLOs’ biggest concern, she said, was to complete their work within the one-month deadline given by the ECI, a process for which she said they were not given proper training.

“It was just a two- [to] three-hour briefing in which we were told how to collect and upload data. That’s it,” the BLO in rural Lucknow said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the deadline to finish the SIR process has been extended twice: first to December 11, and then to December 26. The exercise ended in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat states on December 14, and will end in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Andaman and Nicobar on December 18.

Controversial exercise

The eastern state of Bihar was the first to go through a revision of its electoral rolls this year, after a gap of more than two decades. In July, the SIR was launched in Bihar before its legislative assembly elections in November, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged for the first time as the single largest party.

In the run-up to the polls, Bihar’s opposition parties had demanded a rollback of the SIR, accusing the ECI of rushing through a mammoth electoral exercise that could render vast numbers of citizens unable to vote. In September, the ECI published its final voter list for Bihar, removing 4.7 million names from the rolls.

In Seemanchal, a Muslim-majority region in Bihar’s northeast, voter removals exceeded the state average, prompting allegations by opposition parties and Muslim groups that the ECI was especially targeting Muslim voters, who generally do not vote for the BJP, for removal.

The BJP’s thumping win in Bihar triggered accusations by the losing coalition of a “vote chori” (“chori” means stealing in Hindi). Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian National Congress party, last month called the SIR “a sinister plan of the Election Commission to destroy democracy”.

In response, Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah said in a speech in parliament that the real “vote chori” happened under Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather and grandmother who were also former Indian prime ministers.

As the political debate over the electoral exercise ramped up, it continued to destroy lives. In Bihar, at least two BLOs died during the revision of the electoral rolls.

On November 9, five days after the SIR was announced in a dozen other Indian states and federal territories, Namita Handa, a 50-year-old rural health worker, died of a stroke while she was on duty in West Bengal’s East Burdwan district. Her husband, Madhab Hansda, blamed the SIR workload for her sudden death.

On November 22, Rinku Tarafdar, a 53-year-old biology teacher recruited as a BLO, was found dead at her residence in Nadia district of West Bengal.

In her two-page suicide note, Tarafdar blamed the ECI. “I do not support any political party, but I cannot handle this inhumane pressure anymore”, she wrote, adding that she was threatened with an “administrative process” if she failed to do the required work.

At least four BLOs died during the SIR in West Bengal. On Monday, the ECI published a draft voter list for the state, which removed about 5.8 million people. The deleted names were marked as absent, shifted, dead or duplicate voters.

Sangeeta Rawat, the wife of Vijay Kumar Verma, talks to reporters in Lucknow after her husband’s death while he was working on the SIR [Sumaiya Ali/Al Jazeera]

‘Barely ate or slept’

Anuj Garg worked as a teacher in a government school in Dholpur city in the western state of Rajasthan. On the night of November 30, he fell to the ground while working at his laptop at his home and died of cardiac arrest. He was 44 and had two children.

“He asked for tea at around 1am, but by the time it came, we had lost him,” his sister, Anjana Garg, told Al Jazeera. “In the last month, he barely ate or slept. We only saw him working without a break.”

Anuj had previously worked as a BLO. But Anjana said the pressure this year was extraordinary. Despite working around the clock, he had received notices from his supervisors warning him to meet his targets, she said, adding that the death by suicide of another BLO in the state had added to his stress.

On the night of December 1, Sarvesh Singh, a 46-year-old BLO in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, died by suicide while his wife and four daughters were sleeping in another room. Singh left a note and a final video, purportedly recorded by his wife.

“I failed in this election,” he said in the video, adding that he was losing his mental stability due to a lack of sleep and excessive pressure. In the note, he wrote: “I used to work day and night, but still could not finish my target.”

The ECI has rejected accusations of workloads leading to the deaths of dozens of BLOs across the country.

“The SIR work is very normal. It is not that the BLOs are doing it for the first time,” ECI spokesman Apurva Kumar Singh told Al Jazeera, calling the deaths unfortunate. He said the work was “not overburdening at all”, adding that the ECI was taking required action, without specifying what that action is.

The commission recently doubled the compensation for BLOs to 1,000 rupees ($11) in addition to their salaries, and announced an incentive of 6,000 rupees ($66) upon the completion of an election cycle.

Sapan Mondal, the general secretary of the Kolkata-based Election Staff and Booth Level Officer Forum, said the Election Commission provided no training to the BLOs before pushing them into the enormous exercise.

“When the BLO duty was assigned, nothing was provided, not even devices or data entry operators to help those who don’t know how to work online,” he told Al Jazeera.

As criticism mounted, the ECI on December 1 posted a video on its X account showing a group of BLOs dancing to “relieve their stress”.

The video added to the outrage. Social media users called the commission’s move insensitive. The ECI has not officially responded to the criticism.

Meanwhile, petitions have been filed in several courts against the SIR by opposition politicians, victims’ families and the Association for Democratic Reforms, a prominent watchdog on India’s election processes.

Many affected families said they have been waiting for government support after losing their loved ones, who were often their sole breadwinners.

“We want the money we spent on our father’s untimely death, and a government job for me. Are we asking for a lot?” Harshit asked as he held a 200,000-rupee ($2,200) cheque given to his family by the opposition Samajwadi Party.

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, these organisations may be able to help. In India, New Delhi-based Sumaitri (+91-11-23389090) and Chennai-based Sneha Foundation (+91-44-24640050) are important helplines.

SOURCE PAGE

Naveed Akram, the surviving suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, according to the New South Wales local court.

The other gunman, his father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia’s Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

It was the country’s deadliest shooting since 1996.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.

SOURCE PAGE

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, increasing the pressure on Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Trump has not disclosed how his administration would block the sanctioned oil vessels, nor whether he will ask the Coast Guard to intercept vessels like last week.

The US has already deployed thousands of troops, nearly a dozen warships and an aircraft carrier in the Carribean.

“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”

How has Venezuela reacted to Trump’s announcement?

Venezuela registered its protest to Trump’s move, which will have serious consequences for the country’s economy, and called the decision a “grotesque threat” in a statement.

Venezuelans in US want Maduro out but fear military action

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Caracas accused Trump of “violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation” with “a reckless and grave threat” against the South American country.

“On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,” the government statement said of Trump’s post.

“Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.”

Maduro’s government, according to the statement, plans to denounce Trump’s decision before the United Nations.

Rising tensions between the US and Venezuela

In the past few months, the US has launched more than two dozen military strikes on boats in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, which have killed at least 90 people.

Target Venezuela: Drug war or US power grab?

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Trump has relentlessly threatened Venezuela and recently said that the US will soon start conducting land strikes on its territory.

While Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stymie the flow of drugs into the US, Maduro has alleged that the US military build-up is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation’s oil resources, which are the world’s largest crude reserves.

The US government has formally designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, and said Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials have links to it.

The Trump administration has not provided any evidence for this claim.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher

SOURCE PAGE

On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents

Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents

Get a weekly international news dispatch

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said revised US-brokered peace plans could be presented to Russia within days, following successful talks in Berlin.

The Ukrainian president left Germany confident that proposals negotiated with the US would soon be finalised after receiving crucial security guarantees from his European allies and Washington.

He said that American envoys were set to present the outcomes of this week’s talks to the Kremlin – but not before Russia could pour cold water on the plans.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov reiterated that Moscow would not give back land to end the war, and would not accept any Nato peacekeepers stationed in a post-war Ukraine.

open image in gallery

Speaking in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that peace must not ‘become a reward for Russia’s aggression’ (ANP/AFP/Getty)

As Russia was accused of stalling efforts to end the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in Ukraine following heavy bombardment nationwide.

The country’s deputy energy minister said early on Tuesday that the entire Donetsk region had been cut off following a Russian attack.

Nearly 290,000 people in Odesa were left in the dark, even after workers restored power to 330,000 homes.

Maxim Timchenko, head of Ukraine’s biggest energy provider, told the BBC that Russian strikes were now so frequent that “we just don’t have time to recover”.

President Zelensky told the Dutch parliament during his visit to The Hague that Russia was cynically and deliberately targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter set in.

open image in gallery

Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, including in Zaporizhzhia, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power (Reuters)

“They know that in our region, the winter cold can become one of the most dangerous weapons,” he said.

“They try to use it against Ukrainians, against just ordinary people, against normal life, and that’s why it’s so important not to relax or rely on diplomacy alone.”

Britain on Tuesday unveiled £600m in air defences to support Ukraine through the coming winter.

Defence minister John Healey said the air defence investment was “critical help to Ukrainians as they defend their towns, cities and energy infrastructure from Russia’s barbaric attacks”.

Returning from “productive” talks in Berlin, Sir Keir Starmer cautioned that the path to peace in Ukraine was still “not an entirely straight line”.

open image in gallery

Vladimir Putin has stuck firm to his demands for Ukrainian land, and rubbished European plans for peacekeepers (Sputnik)

The prime minister told his cabinet that there had been progress on Ukraine’s plea for clear security guarantees as European allies worked on a multinational force to be stationed in Ukraine after the war.

European officials also came together to set up an International Claims Commission tasked with ensuring Kyiv is compensated for damages from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.

Details on how any damages awarded by the commission, to be based in the Netherlands, would be paid still need to be worked out.

Early discussions have touched on using Russian assets frozen by the EU, supplemented by member contributions.

Frozen assets remain a point of contention in the build-up to a major vote on Thursday, however.

open image in gallery

Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks in Berlin on Monday (AP)

While many of Ukraine’s backers are pushing to unlock some €210bn (£184bn) in assets to help fund Kyiv, the plan faces opposition from the countries most at risk of Russian reprisals.

Four EU diplomats told Politico that new assurances to dilute legal liability had not been enough to sway Belgium, where most of the assets are held, during a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday.

Mr Zelensky told reporters in the Netherlands that Ukraine could not stay strong without the package, adding that it could offset the reduction in support from some countries.

Allies on the continent turned their attention to securing Europe’s eastern flank during a summit in Helsinki, where they called on the EU to take a bigger role in enhancing defence and security.

The EU “eastern flank” meeting, bringing together leaders from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, said the region’s defences must be prioritised to counter what they called a long-term threat posed by Russia.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk stressed the need for defences, saying leaders were considering spending billions on an “anti-drone wall” in eastern Europe.

SOURCE PAGE

NEED TO KNOW

• A driver crashed a car into a Kroger in Athens, Ga., near the University of Georgia on Tuesday, Dec. 16
• Four people were injured in the incident, though they are all expected to survive the crash
• The cause of the crash is unknown at this time

A driver crashed a car into a Kroger in Athens, Ga., mere miles from the University of Georgia, on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Photos from the store, located on Alps Road, show a silver Toyota driven through the self-checkout area with various items scattered on the floor, though the vehicle does not appear to be severely damaged, according to CBS Atlanta.

Four people were injured in the crash, per the outlet.

“It is an active investigation, and the individuals who were injured are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries,” the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement to CBS Atlanta.

PEOPLE has reached out to the ACCPD for comment. The cause of the crash remains unconfirmed at this time.

“The safety and security of our associates and customers is our top priority,” a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet. “Our thoughts are with those impacted and their families, and we are grateful to the first responders for their swift response.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Kroger for comment.

“I was down close to the pharmacy area where it all happened. I think I was on aisle 23. So, car came to a stop about 25 to 30 feet from where I was at,” Kroger customer Cody Johnson told local outlet 11 Alive. “I couldn’t tell what was going on and I turned the corner and I saw where the vehicle had entered through that glass window there next to the pharmacy. It kind of took out all of the self-checkout aisles.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Johnson told 11 Alive that a Kroger employee was pinned between the car, a self-checkout register and a kiosk.

Police have not identified the driver, CBS Atlanta reports.

SOURCE PAGE

A pharmacist has shared the key symptoms to look out

A pharmacist has shared some key signs of flu to look out for(Image: Getty)

A pharmacist has shared the key signs of flu to spot as a new strain has spread through the UK. In recent weeks the H3N2 variant has been circulating.

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that in the week up to December 7 flu positivity increased in England with a weekly mean positivity rate of 21 per cent compared with 17 per cent in the previous week. Hospital admissions due to flu also rose to 10.05 per 100,000 people, compared with 8.09 per 100,000.

With this in mind, Ayesha Bashir, prescribing pharmacist at Chemist4U, shared some of the symptoms to look for. She explained that H3N2 is causing the same symptoms as in other strains.

She said: “You may have seen reports about a new flu strain being monitored this season, called H3N2. Flu viruses constantly shift and evolve, so it’s not unusual for new strains to develop and be monitored closely.

A sudden high temperature is one symptom of flu(Image: Getty)

“What matters most for the public right now is that the symptoms we’re seeing are exactly the same as with more familiar flu strains, and the way we manage and prevent flu hasn’t changed. Every winter we see flu cases climb, but this year they’ve picked up a little earlier and a little faster than expected.

“This winter’s spike is really down to timing and behaviour. As soon as the weather becomes cold, we all spend more time indoors where viruses spread much more easily. If a new strain like H3N2 is circulating alongside the usual ones, that simply adds more opportunity for infection to spread quickly.”

Symptoms

She shared “key” symptoms to look out for including:

• A sudden high temperature
• A dry, persistent cough
• Body aches and joint pain
• Headache
• Fatigue that comes on very quickly
• Sore throat
• Loss of appetite
• Sometimes nausea or diarrhoea

Certain groups will be eligible for a flu vaccine from the NHS(Image: Getty)

She continued: “These symptoms don’t differ much between flu strains, so you won’t be able to tell which one you’ve caught based on how you feel. What does matter is how unwell you are overall.

“If you’re struggling to breathe, have chest pain, or your symptoms are worsening after a few days, it’s important to seek medical advice. For most healthy adults, flu is unpleasant but manageable at home with rest, hydration, and over-the-counter treatments.

“The people who need to be more cautious are those who are pregnant, over 65, very young, or living with long-term conditions like asthma, COPD, diabetes, or heart disease. If you’re in any of these groups, do seek advice as early as possible.”

How to lower your risk of catching flu

To stay healthy and reduce your risk this winter she advised you:

• Get your flu jab – it’s still the best protection we’ve got and can make symptoms much milder if you do catch the flu
• Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face
• Use tissues and bin them straight away
• Keep rooms ventilated when you have guests over
• Stay home if you’re unwell to avoid passing the flu on
• Support your immune system with enough sleep, balanced meals, and by staying hydrated

She added: “New strains like H3N2 can sound worrying, but they’re part of how the flu virus behaves every year. The good news is we already know that vaccination, good hygiene, and early symptom management still make a huge difference.

“If you’re ever unsure whether your symptoms are typical or need extra attention, always speak to a GP or pharmacist.”

SOURCE PAGE

The first funerals are being held for the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, including British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

Mourners are gathering for memorial services three days after the terror attack which shocked Australia, and intensified concerns about rising antisemitism at home and abroad.

Some 22 people remain in hospital following the shooting, carried out at an event marking the start of Hanukkah.

THE CONFIRMED VICTIMS

• Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old British-born rabbi 
• Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, secretary of a local Jewish group
• Matilda, a 10-year-old girl whose family moved to Australia from Ukraine
• Dan Elkayam, a French citizen 
• Alexander Kleytman, 87, a Holocaust survivor
• Peter Meagher, a retired policeman
• Reuven Morrison, a businessman
• Tibor Weitzen, 78
• Marika Pogany, an 82-year-old Slovakian woman
• Boris and Sofia Gurman, a Russian-Jewish couple who were killed trying to confront one of the gunmen
• Reuven Morrison, 62, who was also shot dead when trying to intervene, according to CBS who spoke to his daughter

Image:
People look at flowers laid out for the victims. Pic: Reuters

Mr Schlanger was an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five.

Often speaking through tears, his father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, expressed his “biggest regret” was he “could have done more” to tell him “how much we love him”.

“I hope he knew that. I’m sure he knew it,” he added. “But I think it should’ve been said more often.”

Image:
Relatives of Rabbi Eli Schlanger next to his coffin during his funeral. Pic: Reuters

The father of 10-year-old victim Matilda spoke at a vigil on Tuesday night. Local media reported him as saying: “We came here from Ukraine … and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist.

“So just remember the name, remember her.”

Image:
A photo of Matilda. Pic: Reuters

Alleged gunman set to be charged

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he expects the injured alleged gunman, Naveed Akram, 24, to be charged later today after waking up from a coma.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has said investigators will question Akram – who is under heavy police guard in hospital – once medication wears off and legal representatives are present.

Read more: Who were the suspected gunmen?

Image:
Gunman Naveed Akram used a Beretta BRX-1 in the attack

The other alleged attacker, his 50-year-old father Sajid, died at the scene on Sunday.

Police have said the two men – who were shot by officers – were motivated by Islamic State ideology.

A recent trip to the southern Philippines is under investigation. The older Akram used an Indian passport to travel, while his son used an Australian one.

Their declared destination was Davao City – an area associated with Islamic extremism.

Share

New details revealed on Bondi gunmen

New South Wales to debate gun reforms

The Australian government and intelligence services have come under pressure over why the alleged attackers were legally able to acquire the high-powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack.

Mr Albanese has vowed to toughen the country’s gun laws after its deadliest mass shooting in three decades, and the state parliament in New South Wales will reconvene next week to discuss reforms.

They include capping the number of guns allowed by a single person and making some shotguns harder to access.

State premier Chris Minns told a news conference: “We’ve got a monumental task in front of us. It’s huge.

“It’s a huge responsibility to pull the community together.

“We need a summer of calm and togetherness, not division.”

Share

Woman shielded children from bullets

Mr Albanese has vowed to work with the Jewish community to “stamp out and eradicate antisemitism”. The prime minister has been accused of not doing enough to prevent its spread since the war in Gaza began two years ago.

Fellow leaders have expressed their shock and anguish since the attack, including Sir Keir Starmer, who hosted a Hanukkah event at Downing Street on Tuesday.

Share

PM hosts Hanukkah event at Downing Street

And speaking at the White House last night, Donald Trump said: “We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded.”

Follow the latest on this story in our dedicated blog.

SOURCE PAGE

Judge sentences former Harvard Medical School morgue manager for stealing organs and various body parts for sale to others.

Published On 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025

Click here to share on social media

share2

Share

The former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the theft and sale of body parts, taken from cadavers that had been donated for medical research.

Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for more than two decades before being arrested in 2023, was given an eight-year sentence by a US District Judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

“He caused deep emotional harm to an untold number of family members left to wonder about the mistreatment of their loved ones’ bodies,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

The 58-year-old Lodge pleaded guilty to transporting stolen goods across state lines in May, with prosecutors stating that he had taken heads, faces, brains, skin, and hands from cadavers in the morgue to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, before selling them to several individuals.

Lodge’s wife, Denise, was also sentenced to one year in prison for her role in facilitating the sale of the stolen organs and body parts to several individuals, including two people in Pennsylvania, who then mostly resold them.

Prosecutors asked District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to give Lodge 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the crime, which they said “shocks the conscience” and was carried out “for the amusement of the disturbing ‘oddities’ community”.

Patrick Casey, a lawyer for Lodge, asked the judge for leniency, while conceding “the harm his actions have inflicted on both the deceased persons whose bodies he callously degraded and their grieving families”.

Harvard Medical School has yet to comment on Lodge’s sentencing, but has previously called his actions “abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values that Harvard, our anatomical donors, and their loved ones expect and deserve”.

A US court ruled in October that Harvard Medical School could be sued by family members who had donated the bodies of loved ones for medical research. In that case, Chief Justice Scott L Kafker described the affair as a “macabre scheme spanning several years”.

Harvard Medical School in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts, US, in 2022 [Brian Snyder/Reuters]



SOURCE PAGE

US President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social, he said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s government had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation and accused it of stealing US assets, as well as “Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking”.

“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he added.

His remarks came a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In a statement, Venezuela’s government said it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”.

In his post, Trump said Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”.

He added that it will “only get bigger” and “be like nothing they have ever seen before”.

Trump also accused Maduro’s government of using stolen oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping”.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of drug smuggling, and since September the US military has killed at least 90 people in strikes on boats it alleged were carrying fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the US.

In recent months, the US has also moved warships into the region.

Venezuela – home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves – has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

The US, under both Trump and former President Joe Biden, has opposed the Maduro government for years and pressed for him to be removed by instituting stringent sanctions.

Last week, the US imposed fresh sanctions on six more ships it said were carrying Venezuelan oil.

Sanctions were also placed on some of President Maduro’s relatives and on businesses associated with what the US called his illegitimate regime.

A day earlier the US said it had seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

The White House said the seized vessel, called the Skipper, had been involved in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to an American port.

Venezuela’s government denounced the seizure, with Maduro saying the US “kidnapped the crew” and “stole” the ship.

The US had built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north, in the days before the raid.

It involved thousands of troops and USS Gerald Ford – the world’s largest aircraft carrier– being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela.

Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat representing Texas, said Trump’s “naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war”.

He added that US lawmakers will on Thursday vote on a resolution “directing the president to end hostilities with Venezuela”.

SOURCE PAGE

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A debate in Mexico City’s congress descended into a brawl Monday as lawmakers yanked hair, traded blows and shoved one another across the dais after an opposition protest over the city’s transparency institute erupted into chaos.

Video from inside the chamber showed the dispute turning violent within seconds, with lawmakers lunging at each other as others stood back and filmed the melee.

Reuters reported the fight broke out during a debate over dissolving Mexico City’s transparency institute.

The clash began when one woman grabbed another’s hand, prompting the second woman to yank her hand back and jab her in the stomach with an elbow.

CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA

A Mexico City debate over the city’s transparency institute erupted into a chaotic brawl as lawmakers shoved, struck and filmed one another, forcing the session to move. (Mexico City Congress Handout)

The first woman retaliated by striking her in the back, then seized the other woman’s hair as the scuffle escalated.

A man stepped in and tried to pry her hand loose, but more lawmakers rushed forward as shoving spread across the dais.

HOUSE DEM CRASHES MIKE JOHNSON PRESS EVENT AS TENSIONS ERUPT OVER SHUTDOWN

A Mexico City debate over the city’s transparency institute erupted into a chaotic brawl as lawmakers shoved, struck and filmed one another, forcing the session to move. (Mexico City Congress Handout)

Several women were seen pushing and grappling while bystanders lifted phones to record the chaos.

Lawmakers from the opposition National Action Party had taken over the congressional podium to protest the measure at the center of the debate.

TRUMP TELLS MEXICO TO FIX CROSS-BORDER SEWAGE PROBLEM FLOWING INTO US COMMUNITIES ‘IMMEDIATELY’

Pictured: An Aerial view of Mexico City on Sep. 8, 2016, Mexico. (Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty Images)

The opposition accused Morena – the ruling party – of breaking an agreement to create a new transparency body, sparking the podium occupation.

The session unraveled as shouting escalated, and rival groups clashed across the chamber.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The meeting was ultimately suspended and relocated to another venue, so lawmakers could resume deliberations, local media reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

SOURCE PAGE