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Win Chadha, one of the key accused in the Rs 640 million Bofors pay-off case, died of cardiac arrest at his residence in New Delhi early Wednesday morning, one of his associates said. He was 77.
Chadha's end came at around 0015 hours, the general manager of his Anatronic Group of Companies, Shailesh Babu, said.
The cremation was likely to take place on Thursday at the Lodhi Road crematorium, he added.
A few months back another key accused, former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, had died of cancer.
Chadha, suffering from various ailments including diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease, suffered a brain stroke at his Bijwasan farmhouse on September 17 last and was taken to the Batra Hospital.
Following the stroke, the Bofors accused had approached the special court seeking permission to go to Dubai to be with his family in his last moments.
In the application filed before Special Judge S L Khanna, Chadha had said if his plea was rejected he would never be able to see his family again.
Stating that he wanted to wind up his business in Dubai, Chadha had submitted that the main ground on which his earlier application was opposed by the Central Bureau of Investigation had vanished after the signing of the extradition treaty between India and the United Arab Emirates.
He also cited the apex court order allowing co-accused Hinduja brothers to go abroad.
The application was due to be heard on October 29.
A former agent of Swedish arms manufacturer A B Bofors, Chadha was chargesheeted by the CBI in 1999 along with former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, Kuala Lumpur-based Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, former Bofors chief Martin Ardbo and the company itself.
A year later, the agency also chargesheeted the Europe-based Hinduja brothers -- Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand -- in the case.
The case against Bhatnagar had abated after his death.
Chadha had been accused of receiving a part of the Rs 640 million kickback in the Rs 14.37 billion deal signed in March 1986 for the supply of 400 155mm Howitzer field guns to India.
He came to India from Dubai in March last year and was granted bail by the court but asked not to leave the country without prior permission.
His plea to go to Dubai for treatment was rejected by the special court. The high court and the Supreme Court had refused to interfere with the trial court order.
However, he was exempted from personal appearance on health grounds till framing of charges.
PTI
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