Gopinath Munde's body at Latur, from where it is being taken to his village
Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde, who died after a road accident in Delhi yesterday, will be cremated with full state honours at his native village in Maharashtra's Beed district this afternoon.
His body was brought to Latur, 485 kilometers from Mumbai, this morning from where it was taken to Nathra, a 2500-strong village in Beed's Parli taluka. It is currently being kept at the Vaijnath Sugar Factory campus for people to pay their last respects. His last rites will be performed by his daughter around 4 pm. His body was flown to Mumbai from Delhi last evening. (
Left Orphaned by His Death: Cry From Gopinath Munde's Village)
Mr Munde was sworn in as a Cabinet minister last week. (
Munde's Demise a Major Loss for Nation and Government: PM Modi)
The 64-year-old minister, considered the BJP's tallest leader in Maharashtra, was on his way to the airport to go to Beed, his Lok Sabha constituency, for a victory rally, when an Indica car crashed into his SX4 car at the Prithviraj Road and Aurobindo Chowk cross-section in the heart of the city, the police said. (
Gopinath Munde's Death and the Ominous Shadow of Number 3)
He was rushed to the trauma centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and was pronounced dead at 7.20 am on Tuesday. (
Gopinath Munde Died of Multiple Internal Injuries: Autopsy Report)Mr Munde's body was kept for about an hour at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where leaders across party lines, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, gathered to pay their tributes. (
See Pics: Leaders Pay Homage to Gopinath Munde)
The driver of the Indica, who was arrested and charged with causing death due to negligence and rash driving, has been granted bail by a Delhi court.