Published Sep 01, 2026 | 5:15 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2026 | 5:15 PM
The deceased was the daughter of Nihar Mukherjee, Mamata's cousin and a local Trinamool leader.
Synopsis: Bristy Mukherjee worked as non-teaching staff at an upper primary school in Bolpur but lost her job following the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case. The Calcutta High Court ordered the cancellation of appointments for 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff following the scam. The Supreme Court later upheld the High Court verdict.
All India Trinamool Congress chief for West Bengal’s former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s niece was found dead in her residence at Kusumba village in the Birbhum district on Tuesday, 1 September.
Police were treating 28-year-old Bristy Mukherjee’s death as a case of suicide. Her body was found hanging in a room on the second floor of the house.
Investigators said Bristy’s motive for ending her life would be known only after a post-mortem examination and further probe. The body has been shifted to Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital.
Bristy’s relatives said her divorce proceedings were underway, and that she was under treatment for depression. The deceased was the daughter of Nihar Mukherjee, Mamata’s cousin and a local Trinamool leader.
The young woman worked as non-teaching staff at an upper primary school in Bolpur but lost her job following the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case. The Calcutta High Court ordered the cancellation of appointments for 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff following the scam. The Supreme Court later upheld the High Court verdict.
Bristy’s relatives, however, claimed that she had worked for only a day. They said she had resigned owing to health reasons before the High Court cancelled the appointments.
Investigators have not found any link between Bristy’s death and the recruitment scam.
The scam pertained to the WBSSC holding recruitment exams for 24,640 posts in state-run and aided schools. However, the commission issued 25,753 appointment letters, much above the notified vacancies.
Investigations later found a series of manipulations in the recruitment process, and those who got the appointment letters allegedly paid bribes to secure jobs, bypassing merit.
The probe led to the prosecution of several Trinamool leaders, including the then education minister Partha Chatterjee and MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha T.
