Former Bihar education minister Mewalal Chaudhry succumbs to Covid-19

Mewalal Chaudhary, a leader of the ruling JD(U), tested positive for Covid-19 last week and was under treatment in a Patna hospital where he passed away at 4am on Monday.

Former Bihar Education Minister and Janata Dal (United) MLA Mewalal Chaudhry passed away on Monday morning, party sources confirmed.

JD(U) leader and former Bihar education minister Mewalal Chaudhary (File Photo/ANI)

The minister has been tested positive for COVID-19 last week and was going under treatment in Paras hospital where he succumbed to the infection. He passed away at 4 am today.

Chaudhary, who was the sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Bihar's Tarapur constituency and was removed as the state Education minister on corruption charges.

Meanwhile, the Bihar government on Sunday has imposed night curfew in the state. The state government has also decided that schools, colleges and other educational institutions in Bihar will remain shut till May 15. During this period, state-run schools and universities will not conduct any exams.

Moreover, the Bihar government has decided to provide bonus salary of one month to all healthcare workers this year.

As per an official statement, there are 39,498 active cases of COVID-19 in Bihar, while the death toll due to the infection have mounted to 1,722 in the last 24 hours on Sunday.