Ajit Pawar reiterates demands for judicial inquiry into deaths of people due to sunstroke

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar reiterated his demand for a judicial inquiry into the deaths of people during or after the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony and said they are seeking information about the incident, including the actual number of fatalities, through the Right to Information Act.

Pawar also responded to a query on Thursday’s meeting between industrialist Gautam Adani and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying the two know each other and there is nothing wrong if two such persons meet. He said he had no idea about the reason behind the meeting.

At least 14 persons, including 10 women, died after suffering from sunstroke during the government-sponsored Maharashtra Bhushan award event at Kharghar neighbouring Mumbai on Sunday. Ajit Pawar said he has written to Governor Ramesh Bais urging him to initiate a judicial probe.

We have not yet received the correct numbers (death toll). We know the numbers announced by the state government. There are people who are talking about reasons like sunstroke, lack of food, etc. in a hush-hush manner, he said. NCP leader said post-mortem of the victims has been done and he has sought the details through RTI.

Some people say that there is a discrepancy in the numbers given by the state government. Some are claiming a higher toll but I don’t want to say anything about it. During COVID, we had decided that we will not hide the actual numbers, he said. Stressing his demand for the judicial probe, Pawar said some visuals have surfaced where people can be seen screaming and there is no place to move, while in a few others, air-conditioners are being installed. 

Again, I’ve no idea whether these visuals are from the (Kharghar) programme. It is a part of the investigation. We have not yet known exactly how many people died, he said. Since the government organised the event, it becomes their responsibility, asserted Pawar.

On a question on industrialist Gautam Adani meeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday, Ajit Pawar said he was not aware of the reason. “If some allegations are levelled against any person, that person meets political luminaries to present his side, but here I do not know why the meeting took place, he said.