Renowned recitation artiste and general secretary of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote Hasan Arif died at a city hospital on Friday at the age of 57.
Arif, who had been on life support for last few months, passed away at the city's Bangladesh Specialised Hospital around 2pm, president of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote Golam Quddus said.
He said Arif had contracted COVID-19 in December last year and was later placed on life support as his condition deteriorated. "Finally he (Arif) passed away on Friday," Quddus added.
Arif, also a former general secretary of Bangladesh Recitation Coordinating Council, had been actively engaged in democratic and cultural movements in Bangladesh, starting with the anti-authoritarian uprising in the 1990s.
Arif was born in Cumilla on December 8 in 1965.