Stand-up comedian Raju Srivastava, who rose to national prominence on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, famous for his beloved act as Gajodhar Bhaiya, passed away in Delhi on Wednesday morning at the age of 58.
Mr. Srivastavas family confirmed his demise to the media.
Mr. Srivastava suffered a heart attack on August 10 and was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, where he was reported to be in a critical condition and put on the ventilator for more than 40 days.
Raju Srivastavas nephew Kushal told ETimes, ‘He (Raju) passed away due to a second cardiac arrest. We were confident till yesterday that all will be well because he had battling it for two months.’
In an interview with Times of India, the late comedian’s wife Shikha said, ‘I am not able to talk right now. What can I share or say now? He fought very hard, I was really hoping and praying to see him come out of this. But, that has not happened. All I can say is that he was a true fighter.’
PM Modi tweeted his condolences to Mr. Srivastava’s family as well.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar were among the other public figures that expressed grief over the death of the popular comedian.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly observes a 2-minute silence to pay respect to comedian Raju Srivastava who passed away today at the age of 58 years.
‘This is sad news as we were all praying for his speedy recovery. But, unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I hope that the Almighty give strength to his family to overcome this hour of grief. He was the Laughter King, he will be really missed,’ tweeted actor Raveena Tandon.
Many others from the film industry and fellow comedians offered their prayers and condolencs, including actor Hrithik Roshan.
‘Mr. Srivastava’s post-mortem has been done with a new technique called ‘Virtual Autopsy.’ It does not require any dissection. The whole process took 15 to 20 minutes, after which the body was handed over to his family’ said Dr. Sudhir Gupta, Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, AIIMS told the media.
Mr. Srivastava’s funeral is to be held tomorrow in New Delhi, the family confirmed.