Mamata’s Niece Found Dead
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Bristy Mukherjee, niece of Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was found dead at her family home in Kusumba village in Birbhum district on Tuesday. She was 28.
In March 2023, her name appeared on a list of 842 Group-C non-teaching employees whose appointments were terminated following a Calcutta High Court order.The Supreme Court later upheld the cancellation of the appointments. That made Bristy's family connection politically significant. She was the daughter of Nihar Mukherjee, who was identified as Mamata Banerjee's distant cousin.
The appearance of the Chief Minister's relative in a list connected with the recruitment scandal immediately attracted political attention. At the time, Nihar Mukherjee reportedly sought to distance the family from the controversy. He said the family's connection with Mamata was limited and that Bristy had resigned after joining the school because of health problems. The issue, however, did not disappear.The recruitment scandal became one of the defining controversies of the Trinamool Congress government, with thousands of appointments eventually caught up in litigation and cancellation. Bristy's name remained part of that story. Now, her death has brought the name back into public attention.
Family members have reportedly said that Bristy had been suffering from depression for several years and was undergoing treatment.The police investigation and post-mortem will have to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.
Police said Bristy was found hanging in a room on the second floor of the house. Her body was sent for post-mortem, and an investigation is underway.
Bristy's name had surfaced in the West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment controversy, one of the biggest political scandals to hit the Mamata Banerjee government. She had been appointed as a Group-C, non-teaching employee in a government-aided school. Her appointment was subsequently cancelled along with hundreds of others after judicial proceedings found serious irregularities in the recruitment process.
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The appearance of the Chief Minister's relative in a list connected with the recruitment scandal immediately attracted political attention. At the time, Nihar Mukherjee reportedly sought to distance the family from the controversy. He said the family's connection with Mamata was limited and that Bristy had resigned after joining the school because of health problems. The issue, however, did not disappear.The recruitment scandal became one of the defining controversies of the Trinamool Congress government, with thousands of appointments eventually caught up in litigation and cancellation. Bristy's name remained part of that story. Now, her death has brought the name back into public attention.
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