Urdu poet Ashok Sahil passes away at 64

Urdu poet Ashok Sahil passed away at a Meerut hospital on Monday after prolonged illness, a family member said. He was 64.

Sahil had been suffering from kidney ailments for some years, and was admitted to the hospital when his condition worsened on Monday morning.

"During the treatment he passed away at the hospital," his son-in-law Tarun Joshi told PTI.

He was cremated at Shukartal last evening, where his friends and family offered condolences, Joshi added.

Sahil is survived by three daughters.

After the death of his wife, Shobha Bhagat, three years ago due to cancer, the poet's health had started failing.