New Delhi: Veteran journalist Vinod Dua, who was admitted to Apollo Hospital's intensive care unit, has died, his daughter and actor-comic Mallika Dua said on Saturday. He was 67. The last rites of the well-known journalist, who was hospitalised with Covid earlier this year and lost his wife, radiologist Padmavati 'Chinna' Dua, to the virus in June, will be performed at the Lodhi crematorium here on Sunday, she said.

"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.

With an illustrious career spanning four decades, Mr Dua was the voice a generation grew up listening to. His legacy transcends the 80s, 90s, the 2000s and in his last avatar, on digital new age media. He was known to have revolutionised election coverage in India. 

NDTV's Prannoy Roy, who worked closely with Vinod Dua, said "Vinod is not just one of the greatest. He is the greatest of his era". Mr Dua was a pioneer in Hindi journalism, with stints at Doordarshan and NDTV. More recently, he was known for his political commentary in web shows for digital media platforms The Wire and HW News.

Mr Dua was honoured with several awards for his contribution to journalism. In 1996, he became the first electronic media journalist to win the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award.

He was also awarded the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008 by the Government of India. In June 2017, for his lifetime achievement in the field of journalism, Mumbai Press Club awarded him the RedInk Award, which was presented to him by Devendra Fadnavis, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

(With Agency Inputs)