West Bengal minister Subrata Mukherjee dies; 'big blow', says Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata (PTI): Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee died while being treated for cardiac ailments at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Mukherjee, who was the state panchayat minister, was 75. He is survived by his wife.
Mukherjee was also in charge of three other departments.
The veteran politician who underwent angioplasty early this week, died at 9.22 PM after suffering a massive cardiac arrest, state minister Firhad Hakim said.
The chief minister who was performing Kali Puja at her Kalighat residence, visited the SSKM Hospital and announced that he is no more.
"I still can't believe he is no longer with us. He was such a dedicated party leader. It is a personal loss for me," she said.
His body will be taken to Rabindra Sadan, a government-owned auditorium, on Friday for the people to pay their last respect. From there, it will be taken to his Ballygunge home and then to his ancestral home, Banerjee added.
Sources in the hospital said the minister had a 'stent thrombosis', one of the fatal complications of percutaneous coronary intervention.
Mukherjee, who was hospitalised on October 24 following breathing problems, underwent angioplasty when two stents were inserted inside his blocked arteries on November 1, the sources said.
He had been suffering from high blood sugar, CoPD and other age-related ailments.
The former Kolkata mayor was hospitalised with similar ailments in May, after he was arrested and sent to jail in connection with the Narada sting tape case. He was out on bail.
Mukherjee was an up and coming Congress leader of West Bengal during the time of Indira Gandhi's second term of prime ministership in the 1970s. He had formed a trident with other two Congress leaders - Somen Mitra and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi.
Mukherjee and Mitra joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party in 2010 and 2008 respectively. While Mitra returned to his old party in 2014, Mukherjee remained in the TMC. Dasmunsi and Mitra died in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
"I have faced many disasters in my life but this is a very big blow. I do not think there will be another man like Subrata da who was such a nice and hard-working person. The party and his constituency (Ballygunge) were his soul. I will not be able to see Subrata da's body.
"This evening the principal of the hospital told me that Subrata da is fine and he will be going back home tomorrow. Doctors tried their best," Banerjee said.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury also condoled his death.
"This is a big loss for West Bengal. It feels like I have lost my elder brother. A few days back, I went to see him in the hospital and spoke to him. It's a big loss for Indian politics," he said.
The BJP's West Bengal president, Dr Sukanta Majumdar described Mukherjee's death as the end of a great era of Bengal politics.
"It's definitely very sad. He was the youngest Cabinet minister in the Siddhartha Shankar Ray government. From then till today, he was a popular politician. May his soul rest in peace."
Senior CPI(M) leader and former Kolkata mayor Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said, "He is a politician of the bygone era. He has always been a smiling personality and an intelligent politician. We may have certain differences of opinion but I consider him as one of the best politicians of Benal I have ever seen."
Mukherjee was also the chief of a club that organises one of the most popular Durga Pujas of the city.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
