Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar fell ill and cancelled his engagements on Thursday, including the inauguration of the three-day Rajgir Mahotsav in Nalanda, which intended to project the place as an international tourist destination.

Although there has been no formal communication from the chief minister’s office (CMO), a senior official said that Nitish was suffering from fever, cough, and body aches, and had to cancel his scheduled programmes.

“The chief minister was feeling indisposed for the last couple of days. He was running high temperature on Thursday. A couple of doctors examined him and advised complete rest. It could be either an exposure to cold or some flu-like viral infection,” the official said.

A source in the CMO said that Nitish took a helicopter trip to Darbhanga on Monday, but did not wear warm clothes or a bandi (half-jacket) during the function there despite a nip in the air.