The final rites of renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata were performed with full state honours at a central Mumbai crematorium on Thursday evening.
The Mumbai police paid tribute to Tata with a gun salute. The industry leader's family members, including the half-brother Noel Tata, and top executives from the Tata Group like chairman N Chandrasekaran, were present at the crematorium in Worli.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Congress leader and former CM Sushilkumar Shinde were also present.
Shantanu Naidu, who was a trusted aide of the veteran industrialist, was also present at the Worli Crematorium and paid his last tribute to Tata.
Ratan Tata's dog 'Goa' also paid tribute at the NCPA lawns in Mumbai. The Caretaker of the dog said that the dog was with Tata for the past 11 years and the industrialist used to love him a lot.
"This dog has been with us for the last 11 years. The security guards brought this dog from Goa when we went there for a picnic. Ratan Tata loved him a lot. The name of the dog is Goa since he was brought from Goa," the caretaker told ANI.
The last rites were performed as per the Parsi tradition, one of the priests present at the crematorium said. After the funeral, there will be three more days of rituals which will be conducted at the late industrialist's bungalow in Colaba, south Mumbai, he said.
Union Minister Amit Shah, who was present at the crematorium, said that he laid a wreath on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
"Have joined millions of Indians to grieve the sad demise of Ratan Tata Ji. Also laid a wreath on behalf of PM Narendra Modi. Ratan Tata Ji will always be remembered as a beacon of patriotism and integrity," Amit Shah said in a post on X.
Tata (86), a Padma Vibhushan recipient, died after a brief illness at a city hospital late on Wednesday night.