Mystery shrouds death of Mulayam’s son Prateek; Akhilesh calls it ‘extremely saddening’

Prateek Yadav, the younger son of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and a stepbrother of Akhilesh Yadav, died in Lucknow on Wednesday (May 13), sources said.

Prateek, 38, suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the civil hospital in the early hours of the day, but was declared dead at the hospital, the sources said. Although hailing from a prominent political family, Prateek, a fitness enthusiast, had stayed away from active politics. However, his wife, Aparna Bisht Yadav, joined the BJP and is currently the vice chairperson of the State Women Commission.

Prateek was the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second wife, Sadhna Gupta.

Akhilesh Yadav pays tribute

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav described his stepbrother Prateek Yadav's death as "extremely saddening." The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister rushed to the Civil Hospital and from there to the King George Medical University (KGMU), where an autopsy was scheduled.

Also read: Mulayam's son Prateek Yadav to divorce BJP leader Aparna: 'Never saw such bad soul'

Akhilesh Yadav did not speak to the media at the hospitals, but posted a brief statement on X: "Shri Prateek Yadav's demise is extremely saddening. May Lord grant peace to the departed soul. Humble tributes!"

Brought dead to hospital

Some youths who were seen with the body at the civil hospital, nearly a kilometre from Prateek's residence, said they rushed Prateek to the hospital around 5.10 am, and he was officially declared dead around 6 am. A panel of doctors is due to perform an autopsy.

Civil Hospital director Dr GC Gupta told PTI that Prateek was brought dead to the facility. "We ran the necessary SOPs, and after confirmation, we informed senior officials and police," Dr Gupta said.

Asked about his reported remark to local media about "suspected poisoning" in the case, Dr Gupta said, "Only a postmortem would confirm the exact cause of death. So beforehand, even in case of any suspicion, it won't be right to say anything till a postmortem is done." The doctor told PTI that around 5.30 am, a driver from Prateek's residence had come to the hospital seeking some help.

An Emergency Medical Officer visited his residence and brought him to the hospital, he said.

Asked about reports making rounds that Prateek was found unconscious inside the kitchen by EMO, Dr Gupta said, "Various things are being said, but I can't say anything for sure." Prateek's wife, Aparna Bisht Yadav, was apparently not at home at the time. Some supporters of the Yadav family, who started gathering outside Prateek's Vikramaditya Marg home, said that she was out of Uttar Pradesh and was rushing to Lucknow.

Prateek was also known to be an animal lover and supported many animal shelters.

Tiff with wife

On January 19 this year, Prateek openly accused his wife of ruining his family ties and said he would seek a divorce from her at the earliest.

In a lengthy post on his Instagram account (iamprateekyadav), the late politician's son described Aparna Yadav as a "family destroyer" and accused her of being "self-centred" and "driven by fame and influence." However, on January 28, he announced reconciliation with his wife.

In a video he posted on Instagram, Prateek said, "On January 19, I had a serious dispute with my wife Aparna, following which I made two posts on social media. However, the matter has now been resolved mutually after discussions, and there is no longer any dispute between us." He also posted a caption in the video: "Haters, go to hell."

In another post, he posted a video with Aparna.

Akhilesh Yadav visited Prateek around 10 days ago at the Medanta hospital, where he was admitted due to a health issue.