Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Amidst hundreds of well-wishers, the burial of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary and former leader of opposition in municipal corporation, Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan (55), took place on Tuesday evening. He breathed his last while undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Pune on Monday night.
His Namaz-e-Janaza was prayed at Dargah Peer Ghaib Sahab (Fazilpura) at 5.30 pm, while the burial took place in the graveyard on the dargah campus.
He is survived by a wife, two daughters, son, mother and two brothers. The well-wishers expressed grief over his untimely demise.
Journey from doctor to politician
Dr Zafar Khan, who was a BHMS doctor, resided in Sanjaynagar, Baijipura. Considering his clean image and popularity, the then minister Rajendra Darda gave him a Congress ticket for the 2010 municipal corporation elections. He won the election and performed very well in the municipal corporation. Impressed by his dedication to work, Rajendra Darda later entrusted him with the responsibility of Leader of the Opposition in the municipal corporation.
In recent years, he became active in state politics. The party assigned him the post of State General Secretary. He also worked notably as the party in-charge in Rajasthan and Karnataka. He was also a national coordinator for the AICC Minority Department.
In the municipal corporation elections held in January 2026, he once again contested on a Congress ticket, but was unsuccessful. Shortly after the elections, he developed a stomach ailment. He had been undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Pune for the past few days. He passed away on Monday night.
Pall of gloom descended
His mortal remains were brought to the city on Tuesday morning. As soon as news of his death spread, several people from social and political circles rushed to his residence. A pall of gloom descended in the city including Sanjaynagar-Baijipura.
Prominent personalities including Lokmat Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Rajendra Darda, MP Kalyan Kale, mayor Sameer Rajurkar, deputy mayor Rajendra Janjal, former MLC M M Shaikh, leader of opposition in the municipal corporation Abdul Sameer, Congress City President Shaikh Yusuf, corporators Afsar Khan, Navinsingh Oberoi, Usama Qadeer, Jawed Qureshi, Pankaj Phulpagar, Baban Didhore, former corporator Ibrahim Bhaiyya Patel, Naser Siddiqui, and many others from different walks of life were present during the burial.