new delhi,apr 26
Jagdish Khattar, the former managing director (MD) of Maruti Suzuki India, died earlier today due to cardiac arrest. He was 78.Khattar was the MD of the erstwhile Maruti Udyog until his retirement in 2007. He served in the automaker from 1993-2007. Khattar joined as director of marketing at Maruti Udyog and was later elevated as MD in 1999 first as nominated by the government and then by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in 2002.Prior to his Maruti stint, he served as an IAS officer in the government.After retiring from Maruti in 2007, Khattar established Carnation – a multi-brand car sales and service network. It was later acquired by Mahindra First Choice in 2018.In December 2019, Khattar was booked by the CBI for alleged loan fraud. The investigating agency had then alleged that Khattar’s Carnation Auto diverted loan funds to sister concerns, causing a loss of Rs 110 crore to Punjab National Bank (PNB).