96-yr-old freedom fighter Krishna Devi no more

Top socialist and political leaders from the region have expressed condolences over the demise of freedom fighter Krishna Devi, 96, following a heart attack in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, Friday evening.

According to her son, Professor Sanjay Sharma, she used to undertake ‘Prabhat pheris’ at Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s birthplace Lyallpur (Pakistan) to generate awareness among the masses during the freedom struggle. During the Emergency, her husband Pandit Ramkishan, a socialist leader and former MP, was put behind bars.

“The then Rajasthan chief minister Hari Dev Joshi urged her to put in a request for the release of her husband. But she refused stating the freedom fighters don’t beg for release from jail,” recalls Sanjay Sharma, a former journalist. Krishna Devi’s elder brother Rudra Dutt Shastri was also a freedom fighter and had faced Britishers’ wrath for participating in the struggle.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have also expressed condolences over her demise.