VARANASI, Jan. 10 -- The last rites of Samajwadi Party (SP) veteran and eight-time MLA Vijay Singh Gond was performed as per the Gond traditions near his ancestral home in Katauli village in Sonbhadra's Duddhi area on Friday.

State minister Sanjeev Kumar Gond, leaders from the Samajwadi Party, the BJP, and other parties, were present.

Vijay Singh Gond, an eight-time MLA from Duddhi, passed away at a Lucknow hospital on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 71. Around 9:15pm, his mortal remains reached Robertsganj. At the Samajwadi Party district office at Churk Mod, party leaders and workers paid tribute to him. The remains were then taken to Katauli. Since the morning, a large number of people gathered there to pay their last resp...