TV news anchor Rohit Sardana dies during coronavirus treatment
Rohit Sardana, popular television journalist and Hindi news anchor, passed away on Friday after suffering a heart attack. He had tested positive for COVID-19. The news has been confirmed by Sardana's former colleague and ZEE News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on social media. Sardana's sudden passing has left the media world in a state of utter shock. May his soul rest in peace.
Chaudhary confirmed the news on Twitter this afternoon
A while ago, Chaudhary tweeted that he had received a phone call from one of his colleagues informing about Sardana's death. "My hands started shivering after hearing the news...I had never imagined that this virus would take someone so close from us," he wrote. "I was not ready for this. This is God's injustice," he added.
You can read his tweet here
Sardana had revealed COVID-19 diagnosis on April 24
Sardana had himself tweeted about his COVID-19 diagnosis on April 24. "I am now doing better. Please take care of yourself and your family members," he had written at that time. In his last few days, Sardana, who had over four million followers on Twitter, had been sharing and amplifying SOS messages from patients and their attendants looking for medical oxygen, plasma, and medicines.
This was Sardana's final tweet
Sardana had been working as a journalist for 15 years
Sardana was born on September 22, 1981 in Kurukshetra, Haryana. After earning a degree in psychology, he studied mass communication at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology. He had been associated with ZEE News since 2004, and hosted the debate program Taal Thok Ke on that channel. He joined Hindi channel Aaj Tak in 2017 and had been hosting the debate show Dangal.
Fellow journalist Rajdeep Sardesai remembers Sardana
Mourning Sardana's passing, India Today news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted, "Rohit and I had differing political views but always enjoyed debating without any rancour." "We did a show one night that finished at 3 am (think it was SC verdict on Karnataka) after which he said, 'boss aaj maza aa gaya!' He was a passionate anchor journalist. RIP Rohit Sardana (sic)."
