Farook, 75, was governor of the Indian state of Kerala when he died. Farook, who served as India's ambassador to the Kingdom from September 2004 to June 2009, has been undergoing treatment in the Chennai hospital for unspecified health problems since Monday.

Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao offered his condolences to the bereaved family and said that Farook was a brilliant statesman. "It is a loss for India and particularly a loss for Indian expatriates living in Saudi Arabia and a large number of Saudi friends," said Ahmed Imtiaz, former chairman of the International Indian School, Riyadh, who was closely associated with Farook.