Mamata Banerjee's niece found dead at Birbhum house; cops suspect suicide

KOLKATA: Bristy Mukherjee, the niece of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, was found dead at her house in Birbhum on Tuesday, police said. Mukherjee was found hanging at her home, and the death is being treated as a case of suicide. The body of Mukherjee, 28, was recovered from a room on the second floor of her house in Kusumba village in the Rampurhat area this afternoon, a senior police officer said, news agency PTI reported. Further investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death is underway. "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,” he said. According to family members, Mukherjee, who was reportedly undergoing divorce proceedings at the time of her death, had been suffering from depression for the past few years and was undergoing treatment. Mukherjee's father, Nihar Mukherjee, is Mamata Banerjee's maternal cousin and a local Trinamool Congress leader. (With agency inputs)