Prateek Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and stepbrother of Akhilesh Yadav, died in Lucknow at 38. A real estate developer and fitness enthusiast, he was married to Aparna Yadav. He had recently made headlines over marital issues and earlier faced criticism for buying a Lamborghini. A post-mortem will determine the cause of death.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son and Akhilesh Yadav’s stepbrother, Prateek Yadav, died in Lucknow on Wednesday at the age of 38. He was declared dead on arrival at Lucknow Civil Hospital.
Reportedly, Prateek was rushed to Civil Hospital at approximately 6:15 am after his condition suddenly deteriorated at home. Doctors declared him brought dead upon arrival, reported Oneindia.
A panel of doctors at King George's Medical University will soon perform a post-mortem examination of the body to ascertain the cause of death, reported NDTV.
Who was Prateek Yadav?
Prateek Yadav was the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second wife, Sadhna. Yadav was the husband of Aparna Yadav and the stepbrother of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
He held an MBA from the University of Leeds. He was a well-known real estate developer and fitness enthusiast.
In September 2012, he featured on an internationally acclaimed bodybuilding website as “the international transformation of the month”. He credited the transformation to a pep talk he received from his father more than a decade earlier.
Yadav was known for his interest in animal welfare and had supported initiatives related to the care and protection of animals.
Controversy
In 2017, he faced backlash over buying a Rs 5 crore Lamborghini, with critics questioning how a member of a family claiming to be committed to socialist ideology could purchase one of the world’s most expensive cars.
Responding to the criticism, he had said, “I bought the car on loan. I have all the papers, I pay income tax. Why the controversy?” he told news agency ANI.
Relationship with wife
Prateek Yadav and Aparna Yadav got married in 2011 following an eight-year courtship. They first met at a party through a mutual friend and began communicating through emails.
In January, Prateek announced that he would file for divorce, alleging that Aparna had ruined his family ties, although they did not follow through with the move later. “I am going to divorce this selfish woman as soon as possible. She ruined my family ties. All she wants to become is famous and influential,” he wrote in an emotional Instagram post. He also alleged that she had shown no concern for his poor mental health.
However, days after announcing his decision to seek a divorce from his wife, Aparna Yadav, and posting a series of harsh allegations against her, Yadav appeared to take a U-turn, indicating reconciliation and lashing out at social media trolls.
Prateek shared an intimate photograph with Aparna Yadav on social media, captioning it “All is good.” In the same post, he added, “Champions are those who crush their personal/professional problems. We are a family of champions,” signalling an apparent effort to move past the public controversy. However, the post has now been deleted.