Highlights
- Shiv Sangram party leader and former MLA Vinayak Mete died in a road accident.
- The accident took place this morning on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
- Mete was headed to Mumbai, which is when driver Eknath Kadam lost control.
Vinayak Mete accident: Shiv Sangram party leader and former MLA Vinayak Mete died in a road accident that took place this morning on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Mete was headed to Mumbai, which is when driver Eknath Kadam lost control and hit an unidentified vehicle from behind. Mete got severely injured in the accident and was taken to the MGM hospital in Panvel and admitted there. Doctors there declared him dead, and his bodyguard is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
As per reports, the accident took place due to a technical problem in Mete's car. Mete was a Maratha leader and had started the agitation against Maratha reservation in Maharashtra. Vinayak Mete constantly put pressure on the state government regarding Maratha reservation. In the Supreme Court, Mete had filed a petition in addition to the state government in protest against the ban on Maratha reservation.
NCP leader Supriya Sule extended her condolences on Mete's demise. She wrote, "Vinayak Mete passed away accidentally. This incident is very sad. We pray that the Mete family gets the strength to bear this suffering. A heartfelt tribute."
Earlier reports had also said that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with Praveen Darekar had gone to visit Mete while he was admitted at the MGM hospital.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has ordered a probe into the accidental death of Vinayak Mete and expressed sadness over his death. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari also extended his condolences over Mete's demise.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government's goal of reducing road accident fatalities looks unattainable for yet another year with 1,231 more people dying in road accidents in the first half of this year and 3,170 more suffering injuries as compared to the same period last year. According to information sourced from the state transport department, 31,458 road accidents occurred in Maharashtra killing 8,068 people while 14,200 were injured between January to June 2022, as against 14,420 road accidents in which 6,837 people died and 11,030 injured in the same period in 2021.
