CM suspends electricity official; shock kills his mom-in-law

SNS, Siliguri/Malda, 8 June 2014: Bibha Chowdhury, 68, the mother-in-law of Saumen Das, the divisional manager of the state electricity distribution company in Alipurduar, died of a heart attack after receiving news that her son-in-law had been suspended on chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s orders.

Mrs Chowdhury fell ill after watching the news on television on Friday night and she died at a private nursing home in Malda this morning.

Mr Das received the suspension order by e-mail just after the CM left the Madarihat Tourist Lodge in Jalpaiguri for Mongpong in Kalimpong on 6 June.

According to sources, Miss Banerjee was annoyed at the frequent disruption of power since the night of 5 June in the area she had been touring.There was no special arrangement for Miss Banerjee, who suddenly decided to return from the Jayanti PHE Bungalow and stay at Madarihat Tourist Lodge from 4 June evening. The administration had made all the arrangements at the Hollong Bungalow near Madarihat, where she stayed since 3 June evening.According to official sources, frequent power cuts were recorded for around 20 minutes on the nights of 5 and 6 June when rains, accompanied by thunder and lightning, lashed the Dooars region. An inverter was not installed there for the CM as an alternative source of power.Several officials and employees of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited were taken aback following the decision to suspend the divisional manager for an indefinite period. The employees, including the zonal manager, were disappointed, but they did not open their mouth because the decision was taken by the chief minister.