Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi passes away at Raipur hospital at 74

In a tragic development, Former Chhatisgarh CM Ajit Jogi passed away on Friday, informed his son Ajit Jogi. Mourning his father's loss, he said that '20-year old' young state of Chhatisgarh has lost its father. Jogi slipped into a coma on May 10, after suffering from a massive cardiac arrest.

Ajit Jogi passes away

Amit Jogi - ex-Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi's son - arrested for forgery

Former CM slips into coma

On May 10, Ajit Jogi who was admitted in a private hospital in Raipur after suffering a cardiac arrest slipped into a coma, a senior doctor attending him said. Jogi's neurological activity was "almost nil" and he was on ventilator support at the Shree Narayana Hospital. The 74-year-old Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) head was admitted a day before after he fell unconscious at his residence in Raipur.

"His heart functioning is normal at the moment. The blood pressure has been controlled by drugs. But there was a disruption in oxygen supply to his brain after the respiratory arrest yesterday, which possibly led to damage to his brain. In medical parlance it is called hypoxia," the hospital's medical director Dr Sunil Khemka then said in a bulletin.

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Jogi and political controversies

A bureaucrat-turned-politician, Jogi, currently an MLA from Marwahi seat, served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 in the then Congress government, after the formation of the state. He parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he got embroiled in a controversy over the alleged fixing of bypoll to Antagarh seat in Kanker district in 2014. He subsequently formed his own outfit JCC (J).

His son - Amit too had recently been embroiled in political controversy after a police complaint lodged against him by BJP's Sameera Paikra on charges of cheating and forgery. He was consequently barrested and then let out on bail. Paikra was the BJP candidate from Marwahi constituency in the 2013 state Assembly polls.

Paikra in her complaint said Amit Jogi allegedly submitted wrong information about his birthplace while filing his nomination papers for the 2013 polls. After the investigation for about six months, "Amit Jogi was arrested from Marwahi Sadan in Bilaspur, based on the FIR lodged against him in February this year at Gaurela police station in the district," Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal told PTI. Jogi was leter released on bail.

Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi slips into coma: Doctor

Chhatisgarh CM mourns loss 

Reacting to the news, CM Bhupesh Baghel, too expressed his condolences. He said that the lose of its first Chief Minister is a big loss to the politcal fraternity. He added that Jogi will be remembered in the state's thoughts forever.

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