Comedian Raju Srivastava passes away

Comedian Raju Srivastava passed away at the age of 58 on Wednesday. He passed away, 41 days after being admitted to AIIMS, Delhi. His nephew Kunal Srivastava confirmed the same to Times of India.

Despite showing improvements in health a few days ago, Raju’s nephew Kushal Srivastava confirmed, “Yes, it is true. He passed away half an hour back. We all are at AIIMS. His entire family is here. We haven’t decided on the last rites yet.”

Raju Srivastava’s wife had spoken to BT on September 6 and said, “All I can say is that his condition is stable and he is still on a ventilator. The medical team is doing their best and we all want your prayers, so that he recovers and is back with us.”

Raju’s chief advisor Ajit Saxena along with his close friends had visited the Panki temple, praying for his speedy recovery.

Raju shot to fame in 2005 after participating in the first season of the stand-up comedy show ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.’ He had also featured in films like ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya’ and ‘Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon’ among others. He was also the chairperson of the Film Development Council Uttar Pradesh.