Sr. Journalist & Whistleblower Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Rajkumar Keswani Passes Away Due To Coronavirus

Keswani, who worked as a senior journalist with ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ for a long time, regularly wrote a column titled ‘Aapas Ki Baat’ for the newspaper post retirement.

Senior Journalist Rajkumar Keswani. (File Photo)

Mumbai: Senior film journalist and whistleblower of the Bhopal gas tragedy, Rajkumar Keswani, succumbed to Covid-19 at a private hospital in Mumbai at the age of 70.

Keswani, who worked as a senior journalist with ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ for a long time, regularly wrote a column titled ‘Aapas Ki Baat’ for the newspaper post retirement.

He was last month admitted to the Bansal Hospital in Bhopal for Covid-19 treatment. He was put on ventilator for the last three weeks as his health condition deteriorated.

His wife too had tested positive for Covid-19 but has now recovered.

Keswani’s book titled ‘Daastan-e-Mughal-e-Azam’, based on the 1960 released Bollywood film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, was quite popular. He also wrote a book last year titled ‘Jahan-e-Rumi’ on famous poet Rumi.

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“Rajkumar Kesavani, who has written many books on films, was writing a book on the 1957 released super-hit film Mother India, which was the first Indian film nominated for an Oscar. He has also written a book titled ‘Bombay Talkies’ on the cinema of the bygone era. He was writing the second chapter of the book, which will be published soon,” Keswani’s friend Pawan Jha told ABP News in an exclusive conversation.

Keswani is also known for his excellent reporting of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, which claimed many lives. Keswani, who was also one of the key witnesses of the gas leak incident on the night of December 2–3, 1984, at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, received international recognition for his reporting on the same. He was also honoured with several international awards for his reporting.

Keswani also wrote a book titled ‘Breaking the Big Stories’ based on his experiences and those of several other famous journalists around the world on the Bhopal gas tragedy coverage.