Agartala, Sept 16 (UNI) Tripura CPI-M state secretary Goutam Das passed away on Thursday morning in a private hospital in Kolkata.
He has been suffering from Covid-19 for the last three weeks. Das, who was a popular Left leader in the state, was 71 and is survived by his wife and daughter.
The CPI-M state committee, leader of the opposition and former chief minister Manik Sarkar, former member of Lok Sabha Jitendra Choudhury and Left Front chairman Bijan Dhar expressed grief over the demise of Das.
Das was the founder editor of CPI-M mouthpiece Daily Desherkatha in 1979 and served there until he was elected as party state secretary in 2015. Despite being in the left politics Goutam Das had never been to electoral politics.
In 1960, Das had come to Tripura from Chittagong of the then East Pakistan and got admitted in the school here. During his college days in late 60s Das joined in communist movement. He had started his career as a journalist in local dailies. Later, became the editor of the party mouthpiece.
He was infected with Covid-19 in last month and he developed respiratory infection. Das was admitted to a local super specialty hospital. But had to shift Kolkata in an air ambulance because he was not responding to the treatment here.
The family sources said yesterday he was tested negative and shifted to general ward but later he was taken to ventilation in a critical state. Around 7 am on Wednesday, Das breathed his last. The family members have been trying to bring the body back home if protocol permits.
