Thousands of people, including leaders cutting across political lines, paid teary-eyed farewell to veteran Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, whose mortal remains were consigned to flames with state honours on Tuesday. Emotional scenes were witnessed through the day, particularly at Kaliaganj, where Dasmunsi's ancestral home is situated in West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district, as legions of mourners wept and shouted "Priya Dasmunsi amar rahe" and "Vandemataram", before the cremation at the Kaliaganj Bondor Crematorium late into the night. An air of solemnity prevailed as the flower-bedecked coffin, wrapped in the tri-colour, was taken out of the cortege and placed on a high platform by police personnel in a slow march.

The mortal remains of veteran Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi being brought at Congress office Bidhan Bhawan for the last respects, in Kolkata on Tuesday. Dasmunsi passed away at a Delhi hospital on Monday morning. Pic/PTI