From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 06:00 PM IST

Noted Marathi writer and columnist Sushila Hemantkumar Gupte, the elder sister of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, died in Mumbai Sunday after a brief illness.

Gupte, 91, is survived by her son Pankaj Gupte, a music director.

A widow, she used to take an active part in Sena politics till a few years ago. She had been ailing for some time and breathed her last at her Bandra home. Her funeral was held Sunday evening.

Thackeray, his son Uddhav and other family members had left for a brief vacation to the hill station of Mahabaleshwar Sunday morning, but Uddhav returned for the last rites.

Besides penning several novels, Gupte was a popular columnist in the party-run newspaper Saamna, and also contributed to its Diwali special issues.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)