Shibu Soren's son Durga dies in his sleep

Ranchi, May 21 (IANS) Durga Soren, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) national general secretary and son of former chief minister Shibu Soren, died in his sleep in his Bokaro home Thursday.

Durga, 39, who fought for the Godda seat in the just-concluded Lok Sabha election and lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, went to sleep Wednesday night and didn't wake up, said sources close to the family. They got to know about the death when some family members tried to wake him up.

The body has been kept at the Bokaro General Hospital.

Though sources said it could be kidney failure or heart attack, doctors were tightlipped and said nothing about the cause of the death.

Shibu Soren and his second son Hemant were in New Delhi to attend the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) meeting on Wednesday. on Thursday morning, they were reported to be on their way to Bokaro in a chartered plane.

Durga, who was legislator from 2000-2005, believed that the Congress was responsible for the defeat of his father in the Tamar assembly by-poll. The defeat forced Shibu Soren to quit as chief minister in January, and Durga was determined to oust the Congress from Godda, said a close associate.

Durga lost but sitting MP Furkan Ansari lost the election too. After the polls, he was sidelined both in the party and the family, the associate said.