CALCUTTA (India): Mohun Bagan club’s former general secretary Anjan Mitra died at a private hospital here on early Friday morning following multiple problems.
The 72-year-old veteran administrator was suffering from several complications that cropped up after a bypass surgery five years back.
A chartered accountant by profession, Mitra was an ardent football and Mohun Bagan fan since his childhood.
Mitra remained with the club as an administrator for three decades, which also saw them break a tradition by signing a foreign footballer – Chima Okorie in 1991.
He played a big role in bringing title sponsor for the club for the first time in 1995 when Bata sponsored the team.
“My father always said ‘he has two sons Tutu-Anjan’. He was like my younger brother. Our friendship and bonding was from our school days. He has left us, but my fond memories with him will remain foreover,” said current club’s general secretary Swapan Sadhan Bose alias Tutu.
With Bose as president and Mitra secretary, the duo roped in former liquor baron Vijay Mallaya’s company as club’s sponsor in 1998 along with East Bengal (under a different brand name) that kicked off a new era in football sponsorship.
Under his stewardship, the club won a large number of top-rung tournaments in India, including the National Football League and I-league.
Mitra’s body was taken to his residence in the morning, before being brought to the Mohun Bagan club premises where officials, former and current players and a large number of fans paid their last respects.
He served as the general secretary for 23 years, before stepping down last year.
