Sixty two-year-old Lalanji, a native of Gokula village in Banka district of Bihar, was suffering from cancer and was being taken to Patna after his health deteriorated, they said.
He, however, breathed his last at around 2.15 am on way to Patna, his son Gautam Maharaj said adding his body would be taken to his native village for cremation.
He is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Lalanji, who shifted to Dumka in 1980, had established a music school 'Maa Tata Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Santhal Paraganas in Jharkhand and promoted dance and music in the tribal region.