Sunamganj: Awami League advisory council member Suranjit Sengupta’s body was burnt with logs of the sandalwood he had planted himself a few years ago, according to his last wish.

However, the veteran politician’s pyre was set with the sandalwood from his own tree and some logs which were collected from Dhaka.

The former minister planted two sandal trees on his residence premises at Dirai upazila in Sunamganj.

The senior AL leader, died at Labaid Hospital in Dhaka on 5 January, was cremated with state honour at his native village in Dirai upazila on Monday evening.

Earlier, his body was taken to Sunamganj from Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

Local Awami League leaders received his body at about 12:50 pm.

A helicopter carrying the body reached Osmani International Airport in Sylhet around 10:35am.

Later, his body was kept at Shaheed Minar in Sylhet city for an hour where local people paid their last respects to the AL leader. Then the mortal remains were taken to Sunamganj by the helicopter.

A 13-member delegation, including chief whip of Jatiya Sangsad ASM Feroz, state minister for finance and planning MA Mannan, AL organising secretaries Ahmmed Hossain and Advocate Misbah Uddin, and Suranjit’s son Soumen Sengupta were with the body.

Suranjit was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for eight times in the post-liberation period.

He took over as Railways Minister and resigned after five months in April 2012. Later, Suranjit was made a minister without portfolio.

Suranjit was a member of 34-member Constitution Drafting Committee, formed after the Liberation War.

He was a commander of Tekerghat sub-sector under Sector-five in Sylhet district as he took part in the Liberation War in 1971 directly.