Ex-mayor dies after prolonged illness

Jalandhar, February 7

Sunil Jyoti, a former mayor of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, passed away at a private hospital this afternoon following a prolonged illness. He was unwell since he suffered a cardiac arrest in October last in Himachal Pradesh, where he was campaigning for the party ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections. He could not recover properly since then. Family members have said that his last rites would be performed at Kishanpura cremation ground tomorrow.

Jyoti was the fifth mayor of the city between 2012 and 2017. He twice remained ward No.5 councillor and fully supported his previous term BJP mayor Rakesh Rathour. His term remained mired in controversies as then senior deputy mayor Kamaljit Bhatia kept on levelling allegations of corruption against him. He remained quite active even after completion of his term, taking on his successor Jagdish Raja over civic issues.

After the report of his demise, party leaders cancelled their meeting at Circuit House. BJP state chief Ashwani Sharma and other party leaders visited his place to offer condolences to his family members.