Bhubaneswar, May 13: Veteran CPI leader and freedom fighter Lokanath Choudhury passed away here last night after protracted illness, family sources said. He was 78 and is survived by his wife and four daughters.

Choudhury, who was imprisoned for two years for pulling down the Union Jack at the Ravenshaw College where he was a student during the freedom movement, was elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1989 and 1991 and thrice to the state assembly in 1957, 1961 and 1974. Born in a zamindar family at Taladanda village in Jagatsinghpur district on May 19, 1925, Choudhury was secretary of the Utkal State Council of CPI for nine years between 1986 and 1994.

Bureau Report