Politicians cutting across the party line and other people from different walks of life congregated at Nunudih in Dhanbad on Tuesday to pay rich tribute to the most respected people’s representative of Dhanbad -- Late AK Roy -- on his 86th birth anniversary when his bust was unveiled.

The occasion also witnessed the felicitation of around 30 tribal Hadams of the nearby Chandankiyari area, sanitation workers, policemen and doctors by AK Roy Memorial Committee led by local social worker Subur Gorai.

Notably, Roy spent the last 15 years of his life at the house of Gorai, which was later converted into AK Roy Memorial Smriti Bhavan from where a host of social activities are conducted.

He founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1973 along with Shibu Soren and Binod Bihari Mahto.

An M.Sc degree holder of Surendranath College of Calcutta (1959) batch, Roy worked as a senior research engineer at Fertilizer Corporation of India and later left his job, peeved over the corruption prevalent in the public sector units. He fought and won the election from Sindri Assembly Constituency as a CPI(M) candidate in 1967.

Roy again won Assembly elections from Sindri in 1969 for the second time as a CPI(M) candidate and won the same seat as an independent candidate in 1972 Assembly elections for the third time.

Following differences with Shibu Soren in 1977 he left JMM and established Marxist Coordination Committee to win Parliamentary Elections from Dhanbad three times in 1977, 1980 and 1989.

Former Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee was present during the function at Nunudih along with Tundi MLA of JMM, Mathura Prasad Mahto, former Dhanbad Mayor of BJP Chandrashekhar Agarwal, Chandankiyari MLA, Amar Bauri and former Sindri MLA Anand Mahto.

Speaking on the occasion, Chatterjee said, “We don’t know any politician with no bank account, no savings and no personal family life -- who devoted his entire life for the service of the common man”

“We help in the treatment of old and lonely persons, bear the marriage expense of daughters of poor parents, carry out blood donation for needy persons, help the physically challenged, widow and other people in getting the pensions as per different welfare schemes of the government and further have plans to expand our activity,” said Gorai, adding that they are working to register their organization under the societies act.

“We planned to establish the bust of Roy Da about three months back so that the generation can learn from the life, works and life of simplicity of one of the most honest politicians,” said Gorai.