Eminent Bengali writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner Prafulla Roy died here on Thursday following prolonged illness, family sources said.

He was 91 years old.

A close family member said Roy passed away in a private hospital in the city at around 3 pm.

Roy, a widower, is survived by two daughters.

Condoling Roy's death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X, "The plight, pain and sufferings of refugees got reflected in several literary works by Prafulla Roy who himself was born on the other side of the border." Describing "Keyapatar Nouko' as one of his timeless fictions, Banerjee recalled the West Bengal government had been privileged to honour Roy at a function in 2012.

She pointed out that Roy had enriched the contents of many newspapers/periodicals being associated with leading media groups in his literary capacity - at different points in time.

She offered condolences to the bereaved family and countless readers of Roy describing his death as an "irreparable loss".

While Roy was suffering from various age-related problems for a long time, he was admitted to a private hospital in the city since March due to breathing issues and his condition turned critical.

Born in 1934 in Bikrampur in Bengal presidency now known as Munshiganj, Bangladesh, Roy had shifted to Kolkata in the 1950s.

His memorable works include Keya Patar Nouko, Satodharay Boye Jay, Krantikal, etc.

Films like Ekhane Pinjar, Baghbondi Khela, Mohanar Dike, Mondo Meyer Upakshan, Bagh Bahadur, Charachar, Aadmi Aur Aurat had been adapted to films from his books and earned critical acclaim fetching awards.

Roy's works often depicted the lives of middle-class, lower middle-class Bengalis and the marginalised people of Bihar among whom he had lived for a considerable period of time during his chequered career.

He received the Sahitya Akademi award in 2003 for Krantikal, he got Bankim Purashkar for his work Akasher Niche Manush in 1985. Roy's young publisher friend Apu Dey of Dey's Publishing told PTI, "It is a great loss for the literary world of Bengal and the country." "He was associated with us for over five decades when my father was young. We had the honour to publish his novel Aloy Phera in the early 70s which was our first tryst with Prafulla jethu (uncle). We had published many of his award-winning and popular novels later on," the young publisher added.

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