Baripada (Odisha), Feb 23 (PTI) Former Baripada MLA Bimal Lochan Das died at his residence here on Tuesday, family sources said. He was 81. Das was elected to the assembly on Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) ticket in 2004.

He was president of Baripada Urban Cooperative Bank for three terms and had served as Director of Odisha State Co-operative Bank.

Das was also the district correspondent of a leading Odia daily for 25 years.

He is survived by two sons and three daughters.

Expressing grief over his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, "Sad over the demise of former MLA Bimal Lochan Das. I convey my condolence to his family."

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "Das will always be remembered for his good works as a peoples representative".

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marandi, Mayurbhanj MP Bisweswar Tudu and others also condoled the death of the former MLA.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)