Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh passes away

Vilasrao D Deshmukh, union minister of micro, small and medium enterprises and science and technology and former chief minister of Maharashtra, died of liver ailment at a Chennai hospital today. He was 67.

Deshmukh, who was undergoing treatment at Chennai's super-speciality Global Hospitals, had shown signs of improvement but turned critical and died of multiple organ failure at 2 pm today. His family members, including his three sons, were by his side when he breathed his last.

Deshmukh was on life-support systems and a team doctors, including noted liver transplant surgeon Dr Mohamed Rela, had put in their best efforts to save him.

But their efforts to save his life suffered a setback after a brain-dead man whose liver and kidney were to be harvested and transplanted in Deshmukh, died hours before the operation last night.

Deshmukh, who was earlier undergoing treatment at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai for about a week, was shifted to the super-speciality Global Hospitals on 6 August as his condition deteriorated.

He is survived by his wife, Vaishali, and three sons - Ritesh (Bollywood actor), Amit (MLA) and Dheeraj (manages family-run educational trusts). The body will be cremated at his native Babhalgaon village in Latur district tomorrow. It will be brought to Latur tomorrow and kept at his house in Babhalgaon from 9 am to 3 pm for people to pay their last respects, his brother Dilip Deshmukh, said.