Pune

Swarup was ailing since some time, and breathed his last in the hospital on Monday night, said a close family friend.

Swarup is survived by his wife Bina, son Vipin and daughter Anju, both settled in the US.

He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1973 and the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1972.

"His last rites will be performed in Pune later tonight," the family friend, declining to be identified, told IANS.