Leena Gangopadhyay resigns as chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Women after change of govt

Kolkata, May 13
After the change of government in the state, Leena Gangopadhyay has stepped down from her position as Chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women (WBCW), said officials on Wednesday

She has left the post before the end of her term.

Leena Gangopadhyay is a prominent writer, producer, and director known for her work in the Tollywood film industry and is a key figure in women's advocacy. She also has a production company and is known to be close to the Trinamool Congress.

She was made Chairperson of the state women's commission in July 2023. Her term was supposed to end in July this year. However, Leena resigned after the change of government in the state.

It may be noted that Leena had expressed her intention to resign from the post of Chairperson a month and a half ago after a controversy erupted over the death of Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee.

On March 29, actor Rahul Arunoday drowned in the sea while shooting for a TV serial in Talsari, Odisha. Leena Gangopadhyay's production company was producing the serial. After Rahul's death, Leena claimed that there was no scene of shooting in the water, and he himself went into the sea. Later, it was learnt that Rahul drowned while shooting.

Rahul's wife, actress Priyanka Sarkar, filed a complaint against Leena and some of the members of the production company. A section of Bengali actors, technicians and directors spoke out against Leena and decided to sever ties with her production company. At that time, Leena expressed her desire to resign from the post so that there would be no accusation of 'influence' in the investigation into the Rahul death case. However, she did not resign later.

Now, with a change in the government after the Trinamool Congress was defeated in the Assembly election, Leena tendered her resignation.

The BJP has come to power in the state after ending the 15-year reign of the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee.