Farook is second Kerala governor to die in office
Chandy leads ministers at funeral in Puducherry
Thiruvananthapuram: The 75 year old M.O.H. Farook who died at a private hospital in Chennai on Thursday night is the second Kerala governor to have died in office. The first one is Sikander Bakht.
While Farook died of multiple myeloma — cancer of plasma cells, Bakht died aged 85 on February 23, 2004 after undergoing a surgery.
Farook had taken leave for treatment a few months after being sworn in last September.
It may be a mere coincident but both Farook and Bakht belonged to the same community. Both began their political careers with the Congress party.
Farook had previously been elected chief minister of Puducherry for three terms and was twice chosen the speaker of the state assembly. Elected to the Lower House of parliament thrice, he also served as the federal minister of state for civil aviation in the Narasimha Rao government.
A former Saudi envoy
He has also served as the Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Prior to coming to Kerala, he was the governor of Jharkhand.
Farook's body was taken to Puducherry on Thursday night and the funeral took place yesterday evening in the presence of a large number of mourners from all walks of like. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his ministerial colleague also attended the funeral. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh also expressed his condolences.
