Former Uttar Pradesh cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh who died after a prolonged illness in a private hospital in New Delhi was consigned to flames in Bhainsakund here on Thursday.
His daughter Poojita Singh lit the pyre in presence of large number of people including serving and retired bureaucrats, media people and staff of state secretariat.
Shekhar Singh, 63, is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Former cabinet secretary’s body was flown to lucknow in a state plane. Chief Minister’s Secretary Anita Singh laid the wreath on the body of Singh on behalf of Chief Minister. National general secretary of BSP Satish Chandra Mishra and Congress MP from Barabanki P.l. Punia also paid their floral tributes.
Singh who rose to the top bureaucratic post in the state started his career as pilot in Indian Air Force. In 1977 he joined State Government service as pilot and during V.P. Singh’s regime he was made Director Civil Aviation. Since then he did not look back and climbed to the top post of cabinet secretary during last BSP regime.
Shekhar was suffering from cancer and had breathed his last at around 9 pm. He had earlier also under gone kidney treatment at the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in lucknow.
A close confidante of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati he was the most powerful bureaucrat during BSP regime. His posting in the IAS cadre posts of Industrial Development Commissioner and Cabinet Secretary had earned ire from the IAS cadre and the UP IAS Association had even passed a resolution questioning as how a non-IAS officer was posted in IAS cadre posts.
The willy Shekhar survived the onslaught and was managed to stay put. In the last SP rule he was shifted to non-consequential posts ut with the return of Mayawati he became Cabinet secretary. He retired in 2010 but the then Chief Minister gave him extension for two years.