India's first reported progeria patient, 15-year-old Nihal Bitla, died on Monday at a hospital in Karimnagar, Telangana.

Nihal Bitla suffered with the genetic condition which aged him eight times faster than normal.

Nihal with his family had gone to his native village in Telangana to attend a family wedding.

He was suffering from arthritis for a long time and dehydration is being suspected as a cause of his sudden death since the climatic conditions in Telangana did not suit Nihal’s weakening body.

The youngster, who is the face of ‘progeria’ patient in India and one who inspired Amitabh Bachchan to essay a similar role in reel life, in the 2007 production ‘Paa’, was actually a big fan of Aamir Khan and loved him for ‘Taare Zameen Par’, a film that had inspired him a lot. Apart from meeting Aamir Khan and getting a lot of goodies as gifts, he travelled a while in the star’s Lambhorgini.

“He appeared like a 60-year-old when he was just 10,” Dr Parag Tamhankar from the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health said, who had diagnosed Nihal with progeria,