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Rajasthan governor Darbara Singh cremated

Darbara Singh, who died after a heart attack at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi yesterday, was cremated with full state honours at his native town of Maksian in Jalandhar district.

His six sons-in-law, including former Indian hockey team captain Pargat Singh, lit the pyre as defence personnel paid a gun salute.

Punjab Governor Lt General (retd) B K N Chibber, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee president Gurcharan Singh Tohra were among those present.

Darbara Singh was admitted to hospital on Thursday after he fell sick during the visit to Pokhran with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee. He was 71.

Singh, sworn in as governor on May 1, held the post for just 24 days.

His blood sugar level had shot up during the Pokhran visit where he suffered a mild stroke, family sources said. He was rushed to Delhi for medical treatment.

Family sources said he ''seemed absolutely all right'' when he had his lunch at 2 pm yesterday. But he suffered a sudden attack at 2.15 pm. The doctors, however, declared him dead only at 5 pm.

Darbara Singh was born on February 25, 1927 in Chak 26 J B Village of Layalpur district (now in Pakistan).

An engineering graduate from Punjab Engineering College, Roorkee, he was a member or office bearer of various decision-making bodies, from the panchayat to the Lok Sabha.

He was elected chairman of the Panchayat Samiti Shahot (Jalandhar-Punjab) in 1964 and became member of the zilla parishad the same year. He won the Punjab assembly elections thrice -- in 1967, 1969 and 1972.

He was a deputy minister in the Punjab government from 1968 to 1969. Later he was elected speaker of the assembly in 1969. He also won the Lok Sabha election in 1996 from Jalandhar.

Apart from politics, he remained very active in fields of education and social work. He was founder president of the Guru Nanak National College for boys and another for girls in Nakkodar in Jalandhar district.

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