A youth Trinamul leader, recently arrested in connection with the tribal “dandi” atonement ritual controversy in South Dinajpur, has been picked as a member of a managing committee of a state-aided school.

Ananda Roy, a close associate of Pradipta Chakraborty, the former chief of the party’s district women’s wing, has been named as a member of the committee of Balurghat Kabitirtha Vidyaniketan, a high school of Balurghat.

The state education department recently published the list of managing committees of 15 such institutions in the district.

Slamming Roy’s name on the list, Sukanta Majumdar, the local MP, and the state BJP chief, said: “This is unfortunate and indicates Trinamul’s insincerity towards the tribal population.”

A local Trinamul leader also called it a “loss of face”.

“Abhishek Baner - jee recently met the tribal women, he was instrumental in the removal of Pradipta Chakraborty (believed to have forced the women to atone for joining the BJP) as vice-chairperson of Balurghat municipality. These helped Trinamul show that it sincerely cares about tribal people. This new development caused loss of face,” he said.