Veteran leftist leader and Marxist theorist Haider Akbar Khan Rano passed away at a city hospital early today at the age of 81.

Rano, an adviser to the Communist Party of Bangladesh Central Committee, breathed his last at 2:05am while undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit in the capital's Health and Hope Hospital, Ananna Labony Putul, a niece of Rano, confirmed to The Daily Star.

His body was kept at the mortuary of Samarita Hospital as his grandchildren are out of the country.

His body will be taken to the CPB office on Monday and will be kept there from 10:00am to 11:00am. Later, the body will be taken to Central Shaheed Minar in a mourning procession, and it will be kept there from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm for people from all walks of life to pay homage.

According to his last wish, his corneas have been donated to Sandhani.

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His namaz-e-janaza will be held at Dhaka University Mosque after Zohr prayers, and later he will be buried at Banani Graveyard beside his father and mother.

Born on August 31, 1942, in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Kolkata), Rano was the general secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra Union. He left the Workers Party of Bangladesh in 2010 and joined the CPB due to differences of opinion.

He was made a presidium member of the party in 2012 and held that post until 2022. Then, he became an adviser to the CPB Central Committee.

A prolific writer, Rano published 25 books and many booklets. He received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2021.