Arunachal ex-CM Kalikho Pul found hanging, dead

Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul, who was dislodged by a Supreme Court verdict last month after being in office for about six months, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the chief minister's official bungalow in Itanagar on Tuesday morning. As doctors pronounced him dead, the state cabinet has announced a three-day mourning.

Official sources in Itanagar said Pul was found hanging from a ceiling fan in one of the bedrooms of the CM's official bungalow which he had not yet vacated after the apex court verdict had dismissed him on 13 July.

Pul (47) was a Congress rebel who had assumed the chief minister's office on 19 February amid a lot of political controversies after the previous Congress chief minister Nabam Tuki was dismissed by a ''special session'' of the state assembly which was later declared null and void by the apex court.

While a post-mortem examination of his body is being carried out, an emergency meeting of the state cabinet chaired by chief minister Pema Khandu announced a three-day state mourning. The cabinet also decided to give him a state funeral.

Pul, who represented Hayuliang constituency in the state assembly, came from a very humble background. An orphan, he even worked as a night watchman while he was in high school.

He broke away from the Congress legislature party along with a majority of MLAs to dislodge Nabam Tuki in December 2015 and take over as CM, following which the breakaway faction merged with the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA).

The 13 July Supreme Court order however removed him from office, reverted the PPA legislators to the Congress and reinstated Nabam Tuki. The latter however resigned two days later, paving way for Pema Khandu to be the new chief minister.