Lucknow, May 13 -- Prateek Yadav, younger brother of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, died in Lucknow on Wednesday morning following a cardiac arrest. He was 38.

According to officials, Prateek was brought to the Civil Hospital in Lucknow around 6 am by his brother-in-law Aman Singh Bisht, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Chief Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital Dr D C Pandey said Prateek had no pulse when he was brought in and his heart had already stopped functioning.

A postmortem examination conducted at King George's Medical University stated that the immediate cause of death was cardiac arrest linked to pulmonary thromboembolism, a serious medical condition caused by blood clots blocking arteries in the lungs. Doctors said large blood clots were found in the lungs, leading to failure of both the heart and lungs.

The autopsy report mentioned injuries to his chest, under his right arm, right forearm, right elbow joint, over the elbow and left wrist.

"Injuries 1, 2, and 3 are about 5-7 days old. Injuries 4,5,6 are about one day old," the report added.

Medical officials said samples of the clots recovered from the heart and lungs have been preserved for further investigation, while internal organs have also been sent for chemical examination. Doctors added that all injury marks found on the body were ante-mortem in nature.

According to medical experts, pulmonary thromboembolism disrupts blood circulation and severely affects breathing by blocking pulmonary arteries with clotted blood.

Sources said Prateek had earlier been admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow on April 30 in critical condition. Though his health reportedly improved after three days, he later returned home without formal discharge. Doctors said he had been undergoing treatment for pulmonary embolism.

Following the postmortem, Prateek's body was brought to his residence. His last rites will be performed at Pipraghat crematorium in Lucknow on Thursday afternoon.

His wife, BJP leader Aparna Yadav, returned to Lucknow from Assam after receiving the news. She had travelled there to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. She went directly from the airport to the family residence.

Several political leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, SP MP Dimple Yadav and senior SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav, visited the residence to pay their respects.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav also reached the postmortem house and met family members and officials. Briefly speaking to reporters, he said, "It is painful that he is no longer among us. The family will decide the further course."

Congress state president Ajai Rai described the death as deeply unfortunate and expressed condolences to the family. He said Prateek was involved in social work and had been following the path shown by late SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Prateek was the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav's second wife, Sadhana Gupta. Born in 1988, he was publicly acknowledged by Mulayam Singh after his marriage to Sadhana Gupta in 2003.

In January this year, Prateek had publicly announced his decision to separate from Aparna Yadav, alleging differences in their relationship. However, the couple reconciled days later. In a social media post after the reconciliation, Prateek had shared a photograph with Aparna and written, "All is good." Prateek Yadav was associated with the real estate business and had been involved in several companies linked to his family members. Last year, he had filed an FIR at Gautampalli police station against a real estate businessman, accusing him of demanding Rs 5 crore in extortion.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.