Ex-Indian envoy to US Naresh Chandra dies in Goa

Chandra was the Indian Ambassador to the US from 1996 to 2001. He was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan.

Panaji, July 10: Former Indian Ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra died at a private hospital near here last night due to multiple organ failure. He was 82. "He was admitted to the hospital on Friday evening with complaints of fever and with myalgia (muscle pain) since three days followed with multiple episodes of vomiting and loose stools from the afternoon onwards," Shekhar Salkar, chief of clinical services at Manipal Hospital, Goa told PTI.

Despite all the efforts the patient could not be revived and he was declared dead at 10.40 pm," Salkar said.

Chandra had served as the Cabinet Secretary from 1990--92 and was the Indian Ambassador to the US from 1996 to 2001. He was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civil honour, in 2007. The hospital sources said that Chandra's body has been preserved in the morgue and his family members have been informed. The body would be flown to Delhi for the final rites.

PTI