Obituary

Comrade Parashuram Rai passed away due to a fatal brain haemorrhage in the wee hours of 21 September while sleeping in the district party office in Gaya. He was 58 and suffering from chronic asthma for the last couple of years. His sudden death is a big shock to all of us.

CPIML Arwal district committee member, 55, was murdered on 9 September 2024 when he was returning on his motorbike to his village in the evening. The killers ambushed and shot him at a rice mill near Imamganj Bazar. Condemning this heinous crime, CPIML Bihar state secretary Kunal said that criminals’ morale is high under the ruling BJP-JDU government. The claim of so-called good governance is exposed once again by this crime. The CPIML has called for statewide protests and Arwal Bandh on 11 September against this killing.

Comrade Sadik Bharti, aged 57, a dedicated member of the CPI(ML) and Assistant Town Secretary of the Dharbhanga district committee of the party, passed away on 13th July at Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). He had been battling cancer and kidney disease, having recently undergone prostate surgery in Patna and receiving treatment at a private hospital in Bombay for the past six months.

Comrade Mankumar Singha, a veteran leader of the Tripura unit of CPI(ML) and lifelong fighter for the rights of the poor and landless, passed away at the age of 74 years on July 10 at a hospital in Silchar in Assam. Born in August 1951 into a landless family plagued by poverty, he grew up amidst the harsh realities of deprivation. He was a resident of Village Nadiapur, Dharmanagar, North Tripura District.

Comrade Ramashankar Ram, a senior leader from Buxar district, passed away on June 26, 2024, at the age of 72 while undergoing treatment at PMCH, Patna. Over the past four years, Comrade Ramashankar Ram had been battling deteriorating health conditions.

Comrade Ashok Singh, 61, succumbed to the heat stroke related ailments on 13 June 2024 while he was on the way back in a train to Delhi after participating in the party’s election campaign in Arrah parliamentary constituency in Bihar. His passing is a great shock to his family and the party in Delhi. He had been active as Okhla district committee member among the working class areas in Okhla and Mithapur for more than three decades as a committed member.

Senior CPIML member of Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh) Comrade Bela Rani (Mataji) passed away on 9 June 2024. Comrade Bela Rani played a vital role in leading the farmers movements in Pilibhit in the 1970s, despite facing all the repression. Later she and her husband, Comrade Jhanjan Lal (Chhote Mahashay Ji) left CPI and joined CPI(ML).

A veteran party member and trade union leader in Delhi comrade Dinesh Singh succumbed to severe heat stroke on 2 June 2024. He was hospitalised in the Safdarjang Hospital after he developed symptoms of heat stroke on 30 May, which was the hottest day of the season. Despite all efforts he could not be saved.

Comrade Vishnudev Prasad Yadav, member of Bihar State Committee of CPIML from East Champaran district succumbed to heat stroke even as campaigning was about to end for the final phase of polling on June 1.

A dedicated communist organiser and trade union leader, Comrade Vishnudev was playing a key role in the Ara election campaign since the end April. 

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Comrade Atul Kumar Anjan, Member, CPI National Secretariat and leader of All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhawan). He was the member of national coordination committee of Samyukta Kisan Morcha. Comrade Atul Anjan started his political journey during his students days. He was the president of the Lucknow University Students Union in the decade of seventies.