Thane: The Congress leader, Arif Naseem Khan, held a press conference on Monday, April 24, in Thane, demanding an inquiry by a sitting judge into the deaths of people due to sunstroke during or after the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in Kharghar.
The demand from Congress leader Khan came after the appointment of a one-member committee, additional Chief Secretary (revenue) Nitin Keer, by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to probe the deaths of 14 people.
Khan accused the state government of apathy
During the press conference, Khan accused the state government of apathy, stating that they were responsible for the deaths and should be booked for culpable homicide. He demanded a sitting judge probe and criticized the government for not initiating one.
Khan also criticized the event management company that was given the contract to manage the entire event, stating that they had no knowledge of how to manage such an event. He questioned whether there was an emergency to hold the event when the temperature was at 42°C and demanded that all angles be proved.
Demand to increase compensation
He further demanded that the government increase the compensation amount from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh and investigate the role of Shiv-Sena's spokesperson Naresh Mhaske, a close aide of Eknath Shinde.
Khan criticized the event's poor management, stating that there was no access to water and food for seven hours, no planning for crowd control, and ambulances could not reach the spot on time. He also criticized the government for organizing the event in an open place despite the harsh heat conditions.
Khan warned that if their demands were not met, the Congress unit, not only in Thane but in all parts of Maharashtra, would protest in a big way.
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