Maharashtra forms one-member panel to probe sunstroke deaths

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday appointed a one-member committee to probe the deaths of 14 persons in the Maharashtra Bhushan award event held in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai on April 16.

The deaths were caused by sunstroke and other health complications as several lakh people converged on the sprawling International Corporate Park to watch social activist and reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari being given the prestigious award.

Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Nitin Keer is the sole member of the committee, which will look into the facts of the incident and recommend steps to be taken while organising such functions, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said.

The committee will submit its report to the state government in a month's time, the CMO statement added.

The formation of the committee comes amid severe criticism of the state government for organising an event on such a grand scale amid the scorching summer and without adequate arrangements.

Some opposition parties, including the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, have sought a case of culpable homicide against the state government for the deaths, while Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has claimed the toll is in the range of 50-75 and not 14 as stated by the government.