Former Thakurgaon lawmaker Ramesh Chandra Sen dies

Ramesh Chandra Sen, former lawmaker from Thakurgaon-1 constituency and former water resources minister, died this morning after falling ill at Dinajpur District Jail.

Ramesh, 84, became unwell at the jail in the morning and was taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared him dead around 9:30am.

The matter was confirmed by Dinajpur District Jail Superintendent Farhad Sarkar.

Farhad Sarkar said Ramesh was sent to Dinajpur District Jail on August 17, a day after he was arrested from his ancestral home in Ruhia Ramnath.

He was a division-prisoner inmate at the jail and had been suffering from illness, the jail superintendent said.

“At around 9:00am today, his condition suddenly worsened. He was then taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where we later received news of his death,” Farhad Sarkar added.

Ramesh Chandra was an adviser to the central Awami League. He served as water resources minister from 2009 to 2014.

He was first elected as a lawmaker from Thakurgaon-1 in a by-election on February 18, 1997. He was later elected in the 2008, 2014, 2018, and 2024 general elections.

Following the mass uprising in 2024, he was arrested from his home at midnight on August 16 and sent to Dinajpur District Jail the following day.

He had been in jail as an accused in three cases, including murder.