CM mourns death of Vedanta chairman’s son

Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday expressed grief over the untimely death of Agnivesh Agrawal (49), son of metals tycoon and Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agrawal. Agnivesh passed away at a hospital in New York on Wednesday following cardiac arrest during treatment after a skiing accident.“Agnivesh was an emerging industrialist. His demise is an irreparable loss to the industries sector,” the CM said, adding, “My prayer to God is that the bereaved family members are given peace, patience and strength to bear this terrible loss.”Both Anil Agrawal and his son Agnivesh were born into a Marwari family in Patna — Anil in 1954 and Agnivesh in 1975. Anil’s father ran a small metals business, and Anil completed his schooling at Miller High School in Patna before moving to Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1973 at the age of 19. He later rose to become a leading metals industrialist.In an emotional response to his son’s death, Anil Agrawal said, “Today is the darkest day of my life. My beloved son left us far too soon… A son is not meant to leave before his father... This loss has shattered us in ways we are still trying to comprehend.”He added, “I had promised Agni that more than 70% of what we earn would be given back to society. Today, I renew that promise and resolve to live an even simpler life.”