Prateek Yadav, Akhilesh's half-brother, dies at 38

Prateek Yadav, the stepbrother of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and husband of BJP leader Aparna Yadav, died in Lucknow on Wednesday morning. He was 38 years old. According to reports, he was found unconscious at his Lucknow residence in the early hours of Wednesday. Sources said an emergency call was made to doctors around 4:55 am after his condition suddenly deteriorated at home. Civil Hospital director Dr GP Gupta said doctors were sent to his residence after information was received around 5 am about his deteriorating health. He was brought to the hospital and declared dead at 5.55 am.
According to official sources at King George's Medical University, the postmortem was conducted by a team of doctors led by Prof Mausami Singh, along with senior resident Dr Fatima Harsha. The procedure began at 8:30 am and lasted for 2 hours and 40 minutes. The entire postmortem was videographed, and viscera samples have been preserved for further examination. The exact cause of death could not be ascertained.
Prateek Yadav was the son of late Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sadhna Gupta. He stayed away from active politics and was associated with business ventures in the real estate and fitness sectors. He had studied at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and ran a gym in Lucknow under the name “The Fitness Planet”. He was also involved in animal welfare activities through an organisation named Jeev Ashray, which worked for the rescue and care of stray dogs.
SP MLA Ravidas Mehrotra has demanded a full investigation into Prateek’s death and questioned why a post-mortem examination was conducted if the death was “natural”. He also claimed to have seen “blue marks” on Prateek Yadav’s body, fuelling speculation over possible foul play. “Post-mortems are not usually conducted in normal deaths. They are done when there is suspicion. The truth behind his death must come out,” Mehrotra said.
Meanwhile, the BJP and the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday cancelled their political programmes in Uttar Pradesh following the sudden death of Prateek Yadav,