Rajasthan: 'Rajmata' Sushila Kumari of erstwhile Bikaner royal family passes away

Her last rites will be performed with full royal honours on Sunday and the body has been kept at the Junagarh fort in Bikaner for people to pay their final respects

A member of the erstwhile Bikaner royal family, "Rajmata" Sushila Kumari died owing to a prolonged illness on Friday night. She was 94.

Her last rites will be performed with full royal honours on Sunday and the body has been kept at the Junagarh fort in Bikaner for people to have a last glimpse of her, family sources said.

The deceased's granddaughter and incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Bikaner East, Siddhi Kumari, paid a visit to her ailing grandmother on Friday night at the hospital where she was admitted.

After the death of Karni Singh, the last Maharaja of Bikaner, in 1988, Sushila Kumari started looking after the affairs of the erstwhile royal family.

Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia expressed grief over her death.

"Received the sad news of the demise of most revered Rajmata Sushila Kumari ji, former Rajmata of the Bikaner royal family who was associated with social service throughout her life. May god give the departed soul a place at his holy feet. Om Shanti," he said in a tweet in Hindi.