Veteran Bengali actor and former Trinamul Congress MP Tapas Paul died of a cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital early today. He was 61. Paul, who had a long history of heart problems, was admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai, where he had gone to meet his daughter in January.
The two-term former MP from Krishnanagar, who moved away from both cinema and active politics after the CBI arrested him in the Rose Valley chit-fund scam in December 2016, is survived by his daughter Sohini and wife Nandini. According to Nandini Paul, the actor was rushed to hospital on 1 February after he fell ill at Mumbai airport on his way to the United States for treatment.
The actorpolitician, known for films such as Saheband Amar Bandhan, was on the ventilator till 6 February. “He was taken off the ventilator and was recovering, but suddenly his condition worsened and he died of cardiac arrest around 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday,” sources said. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in her condolence message that Paul’s death had left a deep void in films and politics. In a career spanning over three decades, Paul had worked with many veteran actors.