Ranchi: Former Maoist politburo member Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da alias Manish Da alias Budha, who was in jail since Nov 2021, died at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) here on Friday. He was 81.RIMS superintendent Dr Hiren Birua stated, “The patient was suffering from various age-related diseases. Recently, orthopaedic, neurology, ENT, medicine and nephrology specialists had visited him in jail. He was brought to RIMS early morning.”He added, “A medical board carried out the post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death.”Bose was arrested along with his wife Sheela Hansda during a joint operation by Jharkhand police and central armed police forces in Seraikela-Kharswan district on Nov 12, 2021. Both were in judicial custody at Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.Sources stated that Bose was undergoing treatment at the jail hospital, adding that his condition turned critical and he was rushed to Rims on Friday morning. Since Bose was brought to the jail, he used a wheelchair and was unable to speak properly.At the time of his arrest, Bose, who hailed from West Bengal, was a Maoist politburo member and eastern regional bureau secretary and carried a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head.Police said that Bose’s position in the Maoist organisation was second only to general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao. Bose was the central point for co-ordinating with different states and also controlled and distributed funds, arms and ammunition for Maoists across the state.Bose was also given responsibility of the Maoist north regional bureau (Punjab and Uttarakand) and was the chief of the Maoist Communist Centre of India.
