Retired IPS officer Acharya Kishore Kunal passes away at 74: Who was he?

Retired IPS officer Acharya Kishore Kunal, who founded Mahavir Mandir Trust in Bihar, died of cardiac arrest in Patna on Sunday, reported PTI. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary paid tribute to the retired bureaucrat and said that his “demise is an irreparable loss to society.”

Kunal suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday morning and was rushed to the hospital, where he died during treatment, reported PTI, citing his family members.

Who was Acharya Kishore?

Acharya Kishore was an IPS officer of the 1972 batch, he was the chief of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trust (BSBRT). He was one of the founding members of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Trust.

Acharya Kishore Kunal completed his school education from Baruraj village in Muzaffarpur. Later, he purside graduation in History from Patna University. He has also served in the Home Ministry department. Kunal became an IPS officer in 1972 from Gujarat cadre. During his tenure in the state, Kunal's first posting was in Anand, later he continued to serve as Deputy Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad till 1978.

After retiring from police services in 2000, Acharya Kishore Kunal became the Vice Chancellor of Darbhanga University.

He was also the secretary of the Mahavir Mandir Trust, which runs several hospitals in the state. Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary said that Kishore Kunal played key role in giving Mahavir Mandir a national identity and his unprecedented work for the weaker section of the society is commendable.

"He gave Mahavir Mandir a national identity and did unprecedented work for the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society. His contribution is difficult to express in words. His demise is an irreparable loss to society. I pray to God to give peace to the departed soul and strength to his family to bear this grief," Choudhary said.