Veteran journalist, freedom fighter Jitendra Chandra Paul dead

Northeast India's veteran journalist and freedom fighter Jitendra Chandra Paul died at a government medical college in the Tripura capital here, family sources said Friday.

Paul, 101, died late Thursday night.

"He had several old-age ailments. Of late, he developed problems in his prostate gland and was admitted to the B.R. Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital here," Paul's son Manas told IANS.

Paul's body was brought to the Agartala Press Club where Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Information and Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha, CPI-M leaders Bijan Dhar and Gautam Das, opposition leader Sudip Roy Barman, former chief minister Samir Ranjan Barman, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sudhindra Dasgupta and others paid tributes to Paul.

The last rites were performed Friday.

Paul, who lost his wife many years ago, had participated in India's freedom struggle and was imprisoned for many years.

He brought out Tripura's first Bengali daily "Jagaran" in 1954 and wrote as many as 12 books. He played a crucial role in Tripura's infamous ethnic riot in 1980 and stirs over problems of refugees who migrated to Tripura from the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).