How Did Prateek Yadav Die? Lung Clot, Suspected Poisoning, And A Post-Mortem Pending — What We Know

Last Updated:May 13, 2026, 13:19 IST

Sources point to a lung clot. A hospital director mentioned suspected poisoning. The post-mortem is pending. Here is everything confirmed so far about Prateek Yadav's death.

Prateek Yadav — the younger son of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, half-brother of former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and husband of BJP leader Aparna Yadav — died on the morning of Wednesday, May 13, 2026. He was 38.

He was brought dead to Lucknow’s Civil Hospital before sunrise, in a city and a political family that had barely absorbed the last headline about him — a public divorce announcement just months earlier. The cause of death has not been officially confirmed. A post-mortem examination has been ordered, and the questions are already louder than the answers.

Who Was Prateek Yadav, And Why Does It Matter?

To anyone outside Uttar Pradesh, a quick explainer: Mulayam Singh Yadav founded the Samajwadi Party and served three times as UP’s chief minister.

His son Akhilesh Yadav followed him into the ‘gaddi’ and currently leads the party. Prateek was Mulayam’s son from his second wife, Sadhana Gupta — a relationship that remained hidden for years and was at the centre of a paternity controversy as recently as 2016.

Prateek shunned politics entirely, built a business empire in Lucknow, and was in the middle of a very public marital breakdown when he died.

His death arrives at a moment of renewed political drama for the Yadav family — and leaves more unresolved than any post-mortem can settle.

Prateek Yadav Death: 10 Things We Know So Far

1. He was declared dead at 5:55 am at Lucknow’s Civil Hospital: Hospital authorities received a call around 5 am that Prateek was unwell. A medical team rushed to his residence, but his condition had already turned critical. He was brought to Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him dead at 5:55 am.

2. He was found unresponsive at home by family members: Family members noticed that he was not responding and immediately rushed him to Civil Hospital in Lucknow. Some youths who accompanied the body told reporters they had rushed him to the hospital around 5:10 am.

3. The doctor cited “suspected poisoning" — but held back: According to Hindustan Times, Civil Hospital director Dr GP Gupta said prima facie the case appeared to involve suspected poisoning, though he stressed the exact cause would only be clear after the post-mortem. This remark set off speculation that is yet to be addressed by any official statement.

4. Sources separately pointed to a lung condition: Sources said Prateek had been suffering from a lung condition for some time and had a clot in his lungs. He was undergoing treatment at Medanta Hospital. After his condition improved at Medanta, he had returned home — and both Akhilesh Yadav and Aparna Yadav had visited him there before his discharge.

5. His health worsened suddenly on Wednesday morning: On Wednesday morning, his health reportedly worsened suddenly. There was no prior public indication that he was critically ill — his recent social media presence had shown no alarm.

6. A four-member doctors’ team at KGMU will conduct the post-mortem: A team of four doctors has reportedly been formed for the post-mortem procedure, and the entire process will be videographed. King George’s Medical University, Lucknow is handling the examination.

7. No visible external injuries were found: Preliminary observations revealed no visible signs of external injury, according to medical officials. But the cause of death is officially undetermined until the post-mortem findings are released.

8. He was in the middle of a bitter public divorce: In January 2026, Prateek had posted on Instagram accusing his wife Aparna Yadav of being “self-centred" and “ruining family ties," and announced he would seek a divorce. However, they did not pursue the divorce case further. The couple’s marital status at the time of his death remains unclear.

9. Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav cancelled all political programmes: Akhilesh Yadav and MP Dimple Yadav cancelled all their scheduled political engagements upon hearing the news. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed grief, calling the death “extremely heartbreaking."

10. The official cause of death is still unknown: Everything so far is preliminary — a suspected lung clot, a suspected poisoning remark, no external injuries, a post-mortem pending. Officials are expected to rely on the post-mortem findings to determine the exact cause of death, which still remains unclear. Until that report is released, nothing is confirmed.

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