New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI): Arun Nehru, a former Union minister and powerful figure during the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi, passed away on Thursday night after prolonged illness.

Nehru, 69, a cousin of Rajiv Gandhi, died in a hospital in Gurgaon, family sources said.

The funeral will take place at Lodhi crematorium in Delhi on Friday.

Nehru had been admitted to Fortis hospital in Gurgaon over two weeks ago. He is survived by his wife Subhadra and two daughters. Lucknowborn Nehru was a three-time Lok Sabha member.

He had a successful career in the corporate world before joining politics in the early 1980s. When Rajiv became PM in 1984, he was his close adviser and minister of state for internal security. However, he fell out with Rajiv later.

Nehru was accused by the CBI of causing a loss to the exchequer in a pistol deal with Czechoslovakia in 1988 during his tenure as MoS. The Supreme Court had recently stayed the proceedings in the case.