New Delhi/IBNS, Aug. 4 -- Shibu Soren worked towards the empowerment of "tribal communities, the poor and downtrodden", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourning the former Jharkhand Chief Minister's demise.

Soren, the founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), died at a Delhi hospital at the age of 81.

The news has been confirmed by Shibu Soren's son and current Jharkhand CM, Hemant Soren.

Shibu Soren, who was the Rajya Sabha MP, remained the third CM of Jharkhand.

In his first term, Shibu Soren remained the CM for 10 days in 2005, then from 2008-2009 and finally 2009-2010.

In 2006, Shibu Soren was convicted in the kidnapping and murder of his personal secretary Shashinath Jha.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case t...