Pune: Rahul Bajaj, veteran industrialist and former Chairman of Bajaj Auto, who passed away on Saturday, was cremated with full state honours here on Sunday.
His body was kept at Ruby Hospital till Sunday morning after which it was taken to his residence in Akurdi around 8.30 am. The last rites were performed by Bajaj's sons Rajeev and Sanjiv at the electric crematorium at Vaikunth Smashanbhoomi here.
Several noted people attended the last rites of Padma Bhushan-awardee industrialist. MP Supriya Sule, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh, Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta, and various dignitaries were present on the occasion.
According to Dr Parvej Grant, chairman of Ruby Hall hospital, where Bajaj was admitted for the past one month, the noted businessman died Saturday afternoon due to heart and lungs problems.
Born in 1938 in Kolkata, Bajaj had a Bachelors degree from the University of Delhi (1958) and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964. He took over as Chief Executive Officer of Bajaj Auto in 1968 and was appointed as Managing Director of the company in 1972. He stepped down from that position in 2005. Bajaj was a former member of the Rajya Sabha. Besides, he had been the chairman of the International Business Council, World Economic Forum.
Rahul Bajaj was instrumental in making Bajaj grow in the automotive industry. In 2001, Bajaj was awarded the Padma Bhushan. With him at the helm, Bajaj Auto became a household name across India in the next few decades especially its scooters and the tagline 'Hamara Bajaj'.Rahul Bajaj stepped down as non-executive chairman of Bajaj Auto in April 2021, ceding the position to his cousin Niraj Bajaj. He had stepped down from the executive role of Bajaj Group companies before his election to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, 2006. He served as a member of Rajya Sabha from 2006 to 2010.
Read: Rahul Bajaj steps down as Chairman of Bajaj Finance; paves way for son Sanjiv
