On Wednesday, Raju Srivastava, the famous comedian, passed away at the age of 58 years. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of AIIMS on August 10. When he was running on the treadmill, he complained about chest pain. He underwent an angioplasty the same day. Recently the doctors have changed the pipe of Raju Srivastava’s ventilator to avert infection. At the same time, due to infection, his wife Shikha and daughter Antara were also not allowed to meet him. He lived with his wife Shikha and two children, Antara and Ayushman.

• Markets decline further as Fed signals caution on rate cuts
• World Bank Approves $2 Billion Package for Ukraine with US Loan Support
• AI Startup Perplexity Raises Funds at $9 Billion Valuation
• RBI’s Feb Rate Cut Path Challenged by Fed’s Policy Shift: Report
• Amit Shah to Chair NEC Meet in Agartala on Saturday

“I got a call from the family about half an hour ago saying he is no more. It is really unfortunate news. He was fighting in the hospital for over 40 days,” his brother Dipoo Srivastava told PTI.

Raju Srivastava was declared dead at 10.20 am, according to hospital sources.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extended condolences on the demise of comedian Srivastava. “Apart from being an accomplished artist, he was also a very lively person,” the minister wrote.

Taking to Twitter, Rajnath Singh added, “I am deeply saddened by the passing away of renowned comedian, Raju Srivastava Ji. Apart from being an accomplished artist, he was also a very lively person. He was also very active in the social field. I extend my condolences to his bereaved family and fans. Shanti!”.

Srivastava catapulted to fame after participating in the first season of the reality stand-up comedy show “The Great Indian Laughter Challenge” in 2005.

Srivastava has also featured in Hindi films such as “Maine Pyar Kiya”, “Baazigar”, the remake of “Bombay to Goa”, and “Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya”. He is the chairperson of the Film Development Council of Uttar Pradesh.

He also joined Bhartiya Janta Party on 19 March 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated him to be part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.