Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday appointed a committee comprising one member to investigate the deaths of 14 people at the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, on April 16. The deaths occurred due to sunstroke and other health complications.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, targeted the government and sought the resignations of CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. "Those who organised the event should be punished. The chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra should take responsibility and resign from their posts. It is not that the Maharashtra Bhushan ceremony happened for the first time, it has happened many times before. If they had to organise such a big event, the arrangements should have been of that level," Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The one-member committee will be headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Nitin Keer and will scrutinize the incident's details, suggest measures for conducting such events in the future, and submit a report to the state government in a month.
The state government's decision to conduct such a large-scale event during the intense summer heat without adequate arrangements has attracted criticism. Opposition parties such as the Congress and NCP are urging for a case of culpable homicide to be filed against the government for the fatalities. Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut claimed that the toll was higher than the government's reported number of 14, stating that it was between 50 and 75.
Earlier the government had announced that the families of the deceased will be given Rs 5 lakh and the sick will be provided treatment. "The administration has instructed that the families of the members who died in this unfortunate incident will be given five lakh rupees each and the entire medical expenses of the members undergoing treatment will be borne by the government," Maharashtra CM Shinde had said.
(With PTI inputs.)