Jharkhand: Senior Congress leader Mannan Mallick dies at 83

Ranchi, Jul 14 (PTI) Senior Congress leader and former minister Mannan Mallick died at a Ranchi hospital on Tuesday, an official of the medical establishment said. Mallick was 83 and suffering from a pulmonary disease. "Mallick was admitted to the hospital with a lung infection. He suffered from a pulmonary disease, was in the ICU, and died on Tuesday morning," the hospital official said. Senior Congress leader and former state unit chief Rajesh Thakur condoled Mallick's death. He said, "Mallick ji dedicated his entire life to public service, social harmony and democratic values. He carved a distinct niche for himself in Jharkhand's politics through his simplicity, honesty and unwavering commitment to the public interest. His demise is an irreparable loss not only to the Congress party but also to the entire state." Mallick had been active in politics for more than two decades. He bagged the Dhanbad assembly seat in 2009, defeating BJP's Raj Sinha by 890 votes. He, then, became the minister of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Disaster Management Department. Mallick contested the 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls from the Dhanbad assembly constituency but lost to BJP's Raj Sinha. A special MP/MLA court in Dhanbad on July 10 convicted 30 accused, including the former Congress MLA, in the 2011 Matkuria firing case. The case dates back to April 27, 2011, when an anti-encroachment drive by the district administration to remove alleged illegal structures from the BCCL land in Matkuria turned violent, forcing police to open fire to control the mob. Four persons were killed and several police personnel had sustained injuries. PTI SAN SAN ACD