Senior journalist Payal Mehta no more; PM Modi expresses grief

NEW DELHI: Payal Mehta, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, passed away at the age of 46. She suffered a heart attack around 2 AM on Sunday while in Mumbai for a private event and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Payal was ubiquitous in and around the Parliament and covered news mostly related to BJP, and the Central Government for CNN. She hailed from Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, among others, expressed their condolences.