Bristy Mukherjee, the 28-year-old niece of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, was reportedly found dead in Birbhum, Rampurhat, on Tuesday. According to news agency PTI, Mukherjee was found hanging at her residence in the village.
Bristy Mukherjee was among the 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs following the teacher-recruitment probe for allegedly “illegally” obtaining their employment. Mukherjee was posted as a non-teaching staff member in Bolpur’s Upper Primary School.
Reportedly, Bristy Mukherjee's name appeared in the 608th position in the list of candidates who were sacked after the high court's order, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
According to a report by The Telegraph, Bristy Mukherjee was depressed following the court's verdict in the alleged teacher recruitment scam case. It is reported by the family that she was undergoing treatment for it.
A native of Birbhum’s Kusumba village, Mukherjee's father, Nihar Mukherjee, is a maternal cousin of Mamata Banerjee. He is also a local leader of the Trinamool Congress.
Bristi Mukherjee's body was recovered from a room on the second floor of her house at Kusumba, Rampurhat area this afternoon, a senior officer said.
The body was sent for a post-mortem examination. An investigation into her death is underway. “The circumstances leading to the death will be established after the post-mortem and other procedural inquiries,” PTI quoted an official as saying.
Reportedly, the deceased was among the ones who secured their employment “illegally”, either through favouritism or through alleged exchange of cash, in the 2016 State Level Selection Test conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission. The West Bengal SSC scam was one of the major corruption cases during the 15-year rule of Mamata Banerjee's TMC in the state.
In connection with the case, former Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and another TMC MLA were arrested. Names of senior officials of the school service commission and the education board also emerged in the chargesheet during the investigation.
The Supreme Court had earlier set 31 December as the deadline to accommodate “qualified” teaching and non-teaching staff who had secured their appointments without any “unfair” means. Recently, the apex court extended the deadline to 31 May.
Disclaimer: Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.
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Sneha Biswas specialises in covering entertainment and pop culture, with a specialisation on Bollywood, Hollywood, OTT platforms, K-pop, K-dramas, and major developments in the US entertainment industry. She believes in telling stories that balance speed with substance, and in making entertainment journalism contextual, culturally aware, and reader-first rather than purely reactive.<br><br>
With over six years of experience in digital media, Sneha currently serves as a Deputy Chief Content Producer at Live Mint. She has spent more than three and a half years with the HT Group and returned to the organisation in February 2025, joining Live Mint to uplift the entertainment section. Over the past year, she has been closely involved in entertainment coverage including breaking news, explainers, trend reporting, box office reports and analysis for the audience.<br><br>
Sneha is Google News certified, having completed training focused on newsroom best practices, digital reporting, and SEO-driven content strategies. Her work reflects a strong understanding of audience behaviour, search trends, and the evolving consumption patterns of entertainment news across formats.<br><br>
Prior to her current role, Sneha has worked across multiple content and editorial functions within digital newsrooms, building expertise in content planning, editing, and real-time coverage. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of entertainment, internet culture, and global pop trends.<br><br>
Working for the National city team, Biswas closely follows global entertainment movements while maintaining a strong pulse on what is happening in India.
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