Kharghar heatstroke tragedy: ‘I had a near death experience’

Kiran Kamtekar from Vasai who got caught up in crowd after the award ceremony, got separated from her friend Minakshi Mestry and learnt the next day that she had died in the commotion

The trauma continues for those who attended the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony at Kharghar on Sunday, after which 14 attendees died due to sunstroke or allegedly in a stampede. Kiran Kamtekar, 52, a cook from Vasai, who said she was caught up in the melee after the function when the attendees were leaving, said she was pushed and pulled around and somehow made it out safely. But she was separated from her friend Minakshi Mestry, 58, also from Vasai, whom she had accompanied, in the commotion, and only learnt of her death on Monday.

Kamtekar said, "Around 1.30pm, as we stepped out of the venue, we saw the disciples walking in large groups towards the buses parked away from the ground, so we followed them. We had hardly walked a few metres, when at J Kumar circle, the crowd increased drastically and people were struggling to make their way ahead. We were holding each other's hand, so that we could be together."

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Separated from friend

"But the next moment, I realised that I was losing my grip on Minakshitai's hand. While she was pulled by the crowd towards the main road, I was pushed in another direction. We kept calling out to each other. I hoped that she would be fine and thought I would contact her over the phone once we were out, but the situation was only turning worse," said Kamtekar.

"I was trapped in the crowd for over 20 minutes. I didn't think I would come out alive. At one point my feet were not even touching the ground. I was being dragged and pushed on to the roadside. The situation was many times worse than in a crowded local train during peak time," she said.

"I was struggling to breathe. I saw a man trying to help his wife step out of the crowd, and I held the edge of her saree and dragged myself towards the road side. I then called Minakshitai's number frantically, but could not get through to her," Kamtekar said.

A shocking sight

"As I walked from the road side pavement parallel to the crowd, I saw a horrifying sight - people were lying unconscious on the road. Their belongings, utensils, slippers and sandals were all over the place. Their loved ones were struggling to revive them, many were crying helplessly," she said.

Asked if there were police around, she said there weren't any. She said she could hear ambulance sirens but due to the crowd they could not reach there. She asked a woman to call Mestry as she was facing a network issue but they couldn't reach her. Kamtekar then followed other disciples and got into a parked NMMT bus, hoping to get dropped at Kharghar railway station, but the police asked the driver to drop them to Jui Nagar station instead, as Kharghar railway station was fully crowded.

"I had a near death experience in Kharghar. I have attended most of the events of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, whom I follow and we consider ourselves as shree sadasya, but all events were well organised and nothing untoward ever happened," said Kamtekar. She reached home at 7.30 pm, and her children were happy she had returned home unharmed, after she narrated the incident.

‘I could not believe my eyes'

Even after returning home, Kamtekar kept calling Minakshi's mobile number but could not get connected. "The next day [Monday] around 6 pm, my sister Supriya Manjrekar phoned me from Malad, to ask me to confirm the update on a woman on social media, whether she was my friend Minakshitai. I checked the message and could not believe my eyes. We were together from Vasai to Kharghar, attended the event and now she was dead. It was shocking. She was a soft spoken person and a nice human being," said Kamtekar.

Soon she received a call from a Goregaon resident, who had found Mestry's handbag. The good Samaritan had charged her mobile phone on reaching his house and found Kamtekar's number on her call list. Kamtekar went to Mestry's house late on Monday. "I could not pay my last respects to Minakshitai, as her body had been cremated. I still sense her presence and haven't been able to come out of the experience of being in the commotion. The incident will be embedded deep in my mind forever," Kamtekar said.

Minakshitai did not show any sign of uneasiness nor complained of extreme heat, or any discomfort, till the event got over, Kamtekar said. "Minakshitai had discussed her family and that they were looking for a suitable girl for her elder son. She had also mentioned that Sunday was the second death anniversary of her younger brother who passed away on April 16, 2021 due to COVID-19, and it is sheer coincidence that she died on the same day," said Kamtekar. Vivek Mestry, elder son of Minakshi, said, "It is really a coincidence, both my mother and her younger brother were cremated, a day after their demise on April 17."

Also Read: Kharghar heatstroke deaths: ‘Images indicate commotion or a stampede-like situation'