Leading hotelier Lalit Suri dies in London

NEW DELHI: Prominent hotelier and Rajya Sabha member Lalit Suri died early Tuesday morning in London after a massive heart attack.

The 60-year-old Suri, the chairman of Bharat Hotels and known as the "uncrowned hotel king of India", is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

His wife Jyotsna, the Joint Managing Director of the group, was with him when he died. The hotelier's body will be flown to the capital on Wednesday for the last rites.

Born on April 15, 1947 in Pakistan's Rawalpindi, Suri was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent from Uttar Pradesh in 2002.

He was a member of a several parliamentary committees including that of Defence and Science and Technology. Recently, he introduced a private members bill in the Upper House demanding a raise in MP's salary.

Trained as an automobile engineer, he joined the family-run Delhi Automobile Ltd in 1971. When the group diversified into hospitality business in 1982, Suri became its Joint Managing Director.

Suri commissioned his first hotel in the capital in 1988 and later became one of the prominent hoteliers in the country establishing a network of hotels across the country including in Delhi, Bangalore and Khajuraho.

He also won a number of awards including Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, Udyog Rattan Award, Rashtriya Samman (for being the highest tax payer), World Travel Market Global Award and National Tourism Award.

Suri also owns Delhi Midday, an afternoon newspaper, published from New Delhi.