Top Maoist Leader Prashant Bose Dies in Ranchi at 85

Ranchi. Prashant Bose, also known as 'Kishan Da', a prominent top leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), has passed away at the age of 85 at RIMS Hospital in Ranchi. Following his death on Friday, a post-mortem was conducted in the presence of a magistrate, but Indian media reports indicate that no one has come forward to claim his body so far.

Bose, who had been incarcerated for a long time, was admitted to the hospital after experiencing health complications. According to Birsa Munda Jail Superintendent Kumar Chandrashekhar, Bose's wife, Sheela Marandi, submitted a written request to the prison administration stating that she is unable to claim her husband's body.

In her letter, Marandi stated that they have no other family members and requested that the government proceed with the funeral rites according to official protocols after allowing her a final viewing. The prison administration plans to wait 72 hours to see if anyone comes to claim the body before proceeding with the final rites as per government standards.

Prashant Bose and his wife, Sheela Marandi, were arrested on 12 November 2021 from the Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand and sent to Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi. According to the jail superintendent, no one had visited him in prison over the past five years.

Bose, who was a major concern for Indian security agencies, faced serious charges including the conspiracy behind the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack in Chhattisgarh, which resulted in the deaths of 30 Congress leaders, including Vidya Charan Shukla and Mahendra Karma, as well as involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence in Pune.