A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court terminated 842 non-teaching staff in the Group-C category of different state-run schools on Friday, March 10. It was alleged that these people had obtained illegal appointments through monetary considerations.
Following the court's order, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has published a list of the terminated staff. Among them, two names have grabbed headlines, as they are known to be relatives of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Minister Srikanta Mahata, as mentioned in a report by IANS.
The 155th name on the list is Bristy Mukherjee (Roll number: 16081601032464), who was posted at Bolpur High School in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. She is a niece to the Chief Minister, as her father Nihar Mukherjee happens to be the maternal cousin of Mamata Banerjee.
Though he admitted to the family tie, Nihar Mukherjee countered that his connections with Banerjee were extremely limited. He also claimed that his daughter resigned from the services soon after she joined work due to health issues.
Next, the 284th name on the list is Khokan Mahata (Roll number: 46081616066084), who was posted at Baita Sri Gopal High School in Jhargram, located in the West Midnapore district. He is the younger brother of Srikanta Mahata, as per IANS.
The Trinamool Congress has not commented on the development on grounds of the matter being a decision of the Calcutta High Court. However, BJP's National Vice-President and MP Dilip Ghosh, said that these two names were just the tip of the iceberg of corruption in the education sector of the state. "Probably there are many more in the list having close relations with ministers and heavyweight ruling party leaders," he added.
