Kamal Khan, the Lucknow bureau chief of news channel NDTV, died on Friday morning after suffering a heart attack. He was 61.

“We are all devastated by the loss of Kamal Khan, an NDTV veteran and one of the country’s best journalists,” the channel said on Twitter.

Khan’s reportage “stood out for its perceptiveness, integrity and the way he delivered hard truths with poetic dexterity”, NDTV said.

“As a news anchor Kamal was the picture of poise and expertise, and his language was famous for its trademark elegance, a draw in its own right,” the channel said. “Most of all, he was a wonderful and generous human being who had only kind words and boundless time for anyone who met him.”

He had received the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism and the Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi Award from the President, according to the Hindustan Times.

Several journalists and political leaders expressed their condolences at Khan’s death. India Today TV’s Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai said that Khan spoke “like a poet with complete mastery over the language”.

Several other journalists also recalled his unique manner of presenting reports.

NDTV’s Senior Executive Editor Ravish Kumar said that there will be no other journalist like Kamal Khan.

Journalist Amey Tirodkar said that Khan “inspired a generation of TV journalists across India”.

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Khan’s death was “deeply saddening” and mourned his death.

Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik also his expressed condolences to Khan’s family. “May Almighty grant him the highest rank in Jannah,” he said.