Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passes away at 67
Veteran journalist Vinod Dua passed away on Saturday following months of health complications due to COVID-19, his family said in a statement. Vinod, 67, had been in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Delhi hospital for the past several days. He had contracted the coronavirus earlier this year and had since been in and out of hospitals. Here are more details on this.
'Irreverent, fearless, and extraordinary'
"Our irreverent, fearless and extraordinary father, Vinod Dua has passed away. He lived an inimitable life, rising from the refugee colonies of Delhi to the peak of journalistic excellence for over 42 years, always, always speaking truth to power," Vinod's daughter, actor-comic Mallika Dua, shared on Instagram. She informed the funeral will take place on Sunday noon at the Lodhi crematorium in the capital.
'He is now with our mom'
"He is now with our mom, his beloved wife Chinna in heaven where they will continue to sing, cook, travel and drive each other up the wall," Mallika added in her post. Chinna was the nickname for Vinod's wife, late radiologist Padmavati Dua.
Vinod was hospitalized due to COVID-19 in May
Vinod and his wife Padmavati had contracted COVID-19 and were admitted to a hospital in Gurugram in May when India was battling its deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. While Vinod was discharged on June 7, his wife passed away a few days later. Vinod and Padmavati's elder daughter is Bakul Dua, a clinical psychologist.
Vinod's career in journalism spanned decades
Vinod was a pioneer in Indian broadcast journalism. During a career spanning decades, he worked with several news channels including the state-run broadcaster Doordarshan, NDTV India, and Sahara TV. In 1996, he had received the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. He was conferred the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008 by the Indian government.
