Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), got sucked into a difficult situation when the body of former West Bengal Assembly Deputy Speaker and five-time TMC MLA Ashish Banerjee, 74, was found hanging at the office of the party in Rampurhat on Sunday, August 16.
A handwritten note recovered from the TMC office in Rampurhat is said to be written by Banerjee. While the note is under police investigation, its content is making news. The controversial death has come at a time when TMC is being investigated by Enforcement Directorate for a helicopter buying scam.
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A key theme of the note, described as his suicide note, is Banerjee’s denial of any involvement in corruption or financial irregularities. He has written in it that he had never engaged in corrupt activities and claims that he had not earned money illegally at any point during his university years or subsequent political career.
Police sent Banerjee’s body for post-mortem examination and are conducting an investigation into the authenticity of the note and the circumstances surrounding his death, said sources.
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Banerjee was a veteran TMC leader and had represented Rampurhat in West Bengal Assembly five times. He had also served as deputy speaker of the Assembly and held ministerial responsibilities in the state government. He lost the Rampurhat seat in the 2026 Assembly election to BJP candidate Dhruba Saha.
In the note, Banerjee has also sought to distance himself from the functioning of the Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA). According to the note, Banerjee had not received any files relating to TRDA for around three-and-a-half years. He claimed that he was neither part of its tender committee nor authorised to sign cheques.
The former MLA further asserted that he had not approved any plans or issued any No Objection Certificates (NOCs). As a result, he said, no grants had been sanctioned through any decision involving him. He also claimed that no one had discussed these matters with him and that he had no role in the activities in question.
The note reportedly went beyond the allegations surrounding TRDA. Banerjee said he had never taken money from anyone and maintained that he had even taught students without charging them. He also claimed that he had never accepted even sweets from students, stressing that he had not benefited financially from his public or professional life.
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Banerjee also appeared to express deep disillusionment with politics. In the purported note, he described his decision to enter politics as a mistake and advised members of his family belonging to future generations to stay away from politics.
The circumstances leading to Banerjee’s death remain under investigation. Police are examining the note and other evidence to establish what happened and whether the death was indeed a suicide.
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