Close Soren aide, minister Sudivya Kumar dies; Jharkhand declares mourning

The Jharkhand government has declared a two-day state mourning in honour of senior JMM leader and minister Sudivya Kumar, who died on Sunday morning, officials said.

The state government has also cancelled all its scheduled programmes during the period, they said.

All Jharkhand government offices will remain closed on September 7, according to an official notification.

"The state government has decided to observe two days of state mourning on September 6 and September 7, following the death of minister Sudivya Kumar this morning," it said.

The national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings in Jharkhand where it is regularly flown, the statement said.

Jharkhand Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar died of cardiac arrest early Sunday, officials said.

Kumar, 56, was admitted to a private hospital in his hometown Giridih at 2.30 am, and doctors declared him dead around 4 am, they said.

A close aide of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, he played a key role in managing several political crises for the JMM-led government, including last month's students' protests in Ranchi.