Acclaimed Urdu Poet Rahat Indori Dies at 70 after Testing Positive for Coronavirus

Renowned Urdu poet Rahat Indori died at a hospital in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. He had tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

A doctor at Sri Aurobindo Hospital said Indori suffered two heart attacks on Monday. "He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19. He had 60% pneumonia," said Dr Vinod Bhandari.

Indori, 70, was quite active on social media and had written about his infection on his Twitter handle earlier in the day.

“After showing initial Covid-19 symptoms, I was tested for the virus on Monday and I am declared positive for the virus today and have been admitted to Aurobindo hospital,” Indori had written.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his grief at Indori's demise.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief at the demise of the poet.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remembered Indori through lines of one of his poems as he bid farewell to the poet.

A well-known Urdu poet, Indori had asked his followers and fans to wish him a speedy recovery, urging them to not call his family to enquire about his well-being and promising to update them via Twitter and Facebook.

Indori was known to express his views on socio-political scenarios in the country.