Purulia, 18 July (H.S.): A 34-year-old schoolteacher whose appointment was affected by the cancellation of the 2016 SSC recruitment panel died while undergoing treatment at Purulia Government Medical College and Hospital on Saturday. The police have launched an investigation after preliminary findings indicated that she had allegedly consumed an excessive dose of sleeping pills.

The deceased, Ipsita Das Mahapatra, was appointed through the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) panel and taught Bengali up to Class X at a higher secondary school in Purulia-II Block. Her appointment was among the 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs invalidated following the Supreme Court's ruling in the SSC recruitment case. Having failed to secure a place in the 2025 SLST merit list, her service was scheduled to continue only until August 31.

Family members claimed that Ipsita had secured her job on merit and had not paid any money for her appointment. They alleged that the uncertainty surrounding her employment had left her under severe mental stress in recent months. She had reportedly been undergoing treatment for depression and was taking sleeping medication.

She was found unconscious at her residence on Thursday and was admitted to Purulia Government Medical College and Hospital, where she died during treatment on Saturday morning.

Hospital sources said the death was suspected to have resulted from an overdose of sleeping pills. Police have registered a case of unnatural death, sent the body for post-mortem examination and initiated an investigation.

Reacting to the incident, the Jogya Shikshak-Shikshika Adhikar Manch (JSSAM) blamed the prolonged uncertainty arising from the SSC recruitment case. In a statement, the organisation said another teacher had fallen victim to the psychological distress caused by the cancellation of 26,000 appointments, adding that several affected teachers had been struggling with anxiety and uncertainty.

JSSAM's Purulia core committee member Subhasish Pan alleged that despite fixing August 31 as the deadline for the affected teachers' service, the government had yet to provide any concrete assurance regarding the future of eligible candidates or fulfil its promise of restoring their jobs.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey