Pawar reiterates judicial probe demand in Kharghar incident

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday reiterated his demand for a judicial inquiry into the deaths of people during or after the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony and said they are seeking information about the incident, including the “actual” number of fatalities, through the Right to Information Act.
Addressing a press conference here, Pawar also responded to a query on Thursday’s meeting between industrialist Gautam Adani and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying the two know each other and there is nothing wrong if two such persons meet. He said he had no idea what the reason behind the meeting was. Ajit Pawar said he has written to Governor Ramesh Bais, urging him to initiate a judicial probe. “We have not yet received the correct numbers (the death toll). We know the numbers announced by the state government. There are people who are talking about reasons like sunstroke, lack of food, etc. in a hush-hush manner,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed on Thursday that 50 to 75 people had died due to the Kharghar event and accused the government of hiding real figures. Stressing his demand for the judicial probe, Pawar said some visuals have surfaced where people can be seen screaming and there is no place to move, while in a few others, air conditioners are being installed.