Tightening the screws on the government, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Tuesday demanded a judicial probe into the Maharashtra Bhushan Award post-event tragedy that left 13 dead and enhanced compensation for all the victims.

Nationalist Congress Party’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar has shot off a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking a probe into the incident by a retired judge.

Shiv Sena (UBT) National Spokesperson Kishore Tiwari has demanded a compensation of Rs one crore to each victim who succumbed to sunstroke after sitting for hours in the open during the event on Sunday, April 16.

Not mincing words, Pawar said that the deaths were due to a ‘disaster’ created by the state government in which the innocent followers fell victims of poor planning of the event in which reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari — revered as Appasaheb — was conferred the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ 2022 by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“This tragedy should be probed by a retired judge and a case of culpable homicide should be lodged against the culprits. The victims should be given a compensation of Rs 20 lakhs each and the injured in hospitals should get Rs 5,00,000 plus free treatment,” Pawar said in his tough single-pager to the CM.

Tiwari said that the state government spent Rs 13 crore from the state exchequer for the grand function, and now 13 poor persons have lost their lives, so each of the victims must be given Rs one crore each.

The Sena (UBT) leader pointed out that at least four local civic bodies were involved in making the preparations but a lot was ignored, specially erecting tents or a marquee for the crowds, adequate drinking water supply, sufficient number of exit points, proper crowd control and other safety measures.

“Around 20 lakh followers attended the event and 13 have perished due to the scorching temperatures of up to 42 C degrees that afternoon. I was numbed by the shrieks of the relatives of the dead victims,” said Pawar in the letter.

Now, many have questioned the need for organising such a mega-event in the open and the loss of lives could have been prevented if it was held in a closed venue as in the past, he said.

“This was not a natural calamity but a man-made disaster and the state government is entirely responsible for the deaths… A retired judge should investigate all aspects of the event planning, the fatalities, pin the responsibility and book them for culpable homicide,” Pawar said.

On Monday, several MVA leaders, including Sanjay Raut, Dr. Raghunath Kuchik, Clyde Crasto, Atul Londhe had given strong reactions and demanded appropriate action by the government.Late evening, Appasaheb Dharmadhikari had issued a statement expressing his deep anguish over the tragedy and called upon political parties not to politicise the incident.