India, Aug. 21 -- Sajjan Kumar, the controversial former Congress member of Parliament who was serving a life term for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died in a New Delhi Hospital on Thursday. He was 80.

Safdarjung Hospital, where he was taken from jail on Thursday morning after exhibiting signs of "altered sensorium", said in a statement that he died at 12.30 pm despite medical and life-support measures being provided. It noted that he had a history of high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease and had multiple hospital admissions in the past.

Kumar is survived by his wife, two daughters and one son, according to his profile on the Lok Sabha website. The Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear a plea for parole by his lawyers o...