Ajit Pawar demands judicial probe in Kharghar sunstroke deaths

NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry into the deaths of people due to sunstroke during or after the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in KhargharThe demand by Pawar Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly came even as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde appointed a onemember committee of Additional Chief Secretary Revenue Nitin Keer to probe the deaths of 14 personsPawar also said that the state governments apathy was responsible for the deaths and it should be booked for culpable homicideIn a letter to Governor Ramesh Bais Pawar urged him to direct the government to initiate probe by a retired judgeInitially it was reported that sunstroke caused the death of 14 persons but some reports later suggested that the deaths occurred due to a stampede during the April 16 event the Nationalist Congress Party leader saidAlso Read Maharashtra Bhushan Award event 11 attendees die of sunstroke Ajit Pawar seeks probeSocial worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari was given the states highest award Maharashtra Bhushan at the hands of Union minister Amit Shah during the event in Navi Mumbais Kharghar areaPeople who attended the event had no access to water and food for seven hours As there was no planning for crowd control ambulances could not reach the spot on time Despite the harsh heat conditions the function was organised in an open place A company with no prior experience of organising such events was given the work spending Rs 14 crore he saidThe toll might be bigger than 14 but the authorities are tightlipped Pawar saidThese were not natural deaths but caused by government apathy therefore the government should be booked for culpable homicide the Leader of Opposition saidHe also demanded a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the kin of the deceasedThe injured should get free treatment and a compensation of Rs five lakh each Pawar saidHe also demanded that an expert committee be set up to formulate a standard operating procedure SOP to ensure such incidents do not happen in the futureThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever