GNLF chief Subash Ghising’s wife Dhan Kumari died on Saturday on way to a nursing home here. Kumari, fondly called Dhanmaya, was at her relative’s house when she breathed her last.

Dhanmaya, 72, was suffering from a heart problem and some other ailments, family sources said. She is survived by her husband and two sons. Subash Ghising married her in 1971 after his first marriage ended in 1961.

The beleaguered GNLF chief has been staying here in Teesta Project Bungalow on the outskirts of Siliguri with Dhanmaya and son Mohan since July 25, leaving his Darjeeling house following the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership’s diktat asking all GNLF leaders, including Ghising, to leave the hills.

Mohan said he was willing to take his mother’s body to their Darjeeling residence.

District Magistrate of Darjeeling S Gupta said the police would provide Ghising family with sufficient security to take the body to the hills if the family desired.

Meanwhile, GJM press secretary Benoy Tamang said the Morcha had put up barricades and would not allow Ghising and his family to enter the hills. Tamang said the decision was taken in the interest of local people.