Mamata Banerjee’s niece, who lost job after teacher recruitment scam, found dead in Birbhum

Mangalore Today News Network

Kolkata, Sep 1, 2026: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s niece was found dead at her residence in Birbhum on Tuesday, according to Kolkata Police.

Bristy Mukherjee, 28, reportedly died by suicide at her residence in Birbhum’s Rampurhat. She had lost her job as non-teaching staff in March 2023 after the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court nullified the appointments of thousands of jobs over alleged corruption.

Nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs in government schools were struck down because they gained employment “illegally" through favouritism and alleged exchange of cash, as per the court’s orders.

Who Is Bristy Mukherjee?

Mukherjee hails from Birbhum’s Kusumba village in Rampurhat. Her father, Nihar Mukherjee, is Mamata’s maternal cousin and a local Trinamool Congress leader, according to The Telegraph.

Bristy had been suffering from depression over the past few years following her job loss and was undergoing treatment, as per her family members. Her body was recovered from a room on the second floor of her house at Kusumba village.

“The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. An investigation is underway. The circumstances leading to the death will be established after the post-mortem and other procedural inquiries," a senior police officer told news agency PTI.

Bristy’s name was in the 608th position in the list of candidates who lost their jobs following the High Court’s order on the cash-for-jobs scam, which was upheld by the Supreme Court later.

The case triggered widespread outrage in West Bengal and emerged as one of the biggest corruption controversies during Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year tenure. Then state education minister Partha Chatterjee, several MLAs from the ruling party and senior officials of the School Service Commission and education board were arrested and named in the chargesheet.