Actor playing Lord Ram dies after heart attack on stage

A 45-year-old man died after he suffered a heart attack while performing the role of Lord Ram during the staging of a Ramlila in east Delhi’s Vishwakarma Nagar near Shahdara, the police said on Sunday.

An officer said that he was rushed to a hospital, where he was put on a ventilator. After an hour, the doctors pronounced him dead. The deceased was identified as Sushil Kaushik, a property dealer, the police officer added.

The officer said a video had surfaced on social media, which showed Kaushik touching his chest and leaving the stage.

His family members did not suspect any foul play, but the police are investigating the matter, he added. “We also sent our team to the Ramlila spot to know if he was feeling unwell before his performance,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, Rahul Kaushik, a family member, told mediapersons that the deceased was one of the founding members of the area Jai Shri Ramlila Committee.

“He had been performing the role of Raja Ram since 1987,” he added.

‘Vaccine likely cause’

Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the death could be linked to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It is a common discussion that such cases are continuously appearing in India, where young people are dying of heart attack while walking,” he said in a Hindi post on X (formerly Twitter).

Published - October 07, 2024 01:18 am IST