Raigad police have arrested a 24-year-old man from Pune for allegedly posting on social media a fake letter in the name of social activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, an official said.
The letter had stated that Dharmadhikari would return the Maharashtra Bhushan Award given to him recently at a function. Notably, 14 persons died due to sunstroke after attending the mega function held on April 16 at an open ground in Kharghar area of neighbouring Raigad district.
Raigad police have arrested the accused, Shubham Kale, a commerce graduate, for allegedly posting the fake letter, the official said. The accused was on Monday produced before a court in Alibaug which remanded him in police custody for one day, he said.
Meanwhile, Raigad’s Resident Deputy Collector Padmashri Bainade told PTI that the kin each of the 14 persons who died of sunstroke after the award function have been paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced earlier by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The compensation amount was transferred to their bank accounts a couple of days back, she said. The amount of compensation for those who fell ill after the event will be paid directly to the hospitals where they underwent treatment, the official said.