Former union minister Santosh Mohan Dev is no more

Former union minister and Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev passed away at a hospital in Silchar, Assam, on Wednesday morning following a prolonged illness.He was 86 and is survived by his former legislator wife Bithika Dev and four daughters, including Congress MP from Silchar, Sushmita Dev.

He was ailing for long and was admitted recently to a private hospital after he developed pneumonia. He breathed his last there at 6.06 am today.

Dev was Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the first UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times since 1980 -- five times from Silchar and twice from Tripura. Dev was also a popular sports events organiser.