April 19: Twenty-year-old Ritam Deka, who had had set an example for the physically challenged by conquering his disability, today lost his prolonged battle with the rare disease called duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

His mother, Bondita, said he passed away after a cardiac arrest at his Uttarandanda Nagar residence at 8 am. Afflicted by DMD, which impairs the normal functioning of the muscles (to produce force), Ritam was unable to lift even a pen without help.

He, however, surprised everyone by overcoming his disability to score 82 per cent marks in the High School Leaving Certificate examinations with letter marks in six subjects in 2003.

Hundreds of his friends and admirers, including chief minister Tarun Gogoi and forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi, today condoled the demise of the talented youth.

Ritam had appeared in the HS examination in the arts stream from Arya Vidyapeeth College this year, where his mother is a teacher.