Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar's wife, Santosh Shailza, succumbed to COVID-19 in the early hours of Tuesday. She was 83.
She was undergoing treatment at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, in Kangra district of the state. She was admitted to the facility after testing positive for COVID-19 a few days ago.
Shanta Kumar was also admitted to the Tanda hospital on Saturday, a day after he tested positive for the disease. His four other family members, his personal secretary, security officer and driver have also tested positive for COVID-19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him on Sunday to enquire about his and his family members' health.
Himachal Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur have expressed grief over the demise of Shailja. In his condolence message, Thakur said that with her death, the state had lost an educationist, writer and social worker who devoted her whole life for the welfare of vulnerable sections of the society.
CM expresses condolences with Shanta Kumar
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday visited the residence of former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar at Palampur to express his deep condolences on the sad demise of his wife Santosh Shailja. The Chief Minister said that Santosh Shailja was an educationist, writer and social worker who always stood for the cause of poor and downtrodden people.