Maratha quota supporter and ex-MLC Vinayak Mete dies in accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Mete was a staunch supporter of reservation for the Maratha community.
Maharashtra Shiv Sangram leader Vinayak Mete passed away after he met with a car accident in Raigad early morning on Sunday. (Photos | Twitter)
Maharashtra Shiv Sangram leader Vinayak Mete passed away after he met with a car accident in Raigad early morning on Sunday. (Photos | Twitter)

MUMBAI: Shiv Sangram Party leader and former member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council Vinayak Mete was killed after a vehicle hit his car on Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Sunday morning, officials said. He was 52.

Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said the driver of Mete's SUV may have dozed off leading to the accident while Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant sought a probe questioning why Mete was called to attend a meeting (on Maratha quota) to Mumbai on short notice.

Mete, who remained at the forefront of the agitations in the past to demand reservations for the Maratha community, was coming to Mumbai from Beed to attend a meeting on the quota issue when his SUV met with the accident shortly after 5 AM.

Mete had headed a key committee executing the construction of a grand memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea.

The accident took place at 5.05 am near Madap tunnel under the jurisdiction of Rasayani police station in the neighbouring Raigad district, the officials said.

Mete, another person, and his driver, were in the car while they were on their way to Mumbai from Beed.

A vehicle hit their car near the tunnel and all of them received serious injuries, an official said.

They were rushed to a private hospital in Navi Mumbai Mete was declared dead, he said.

A doctor who checked on Mete at the MGM Hospital in Panvel later told reporters that Mete had died before he was brought to the hospital.

"He was brought in at 6.20 am. He had no pulse or blood pressure, and his pupils were not moving. He died before being brought to the hospital. We even performed an ECG (electrocardiogram), but it showed a flat line (indicating no heart movement),"” the doctor said.

The former MLC hailed from the Beed district in the Marathwada region.

Mete is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Eknath Kadam, who was driving the SUV, said Mete didn't receive any help for almost an hour after the accident as no vehicle stopped to shift him to the hospital. "“After the accident, I tried to stop many vehicles on the Mumbai-Pune expressway seeking help but nobody stopped. Almost after an hour, a vehicle carrying vegetables stopped and the driver helped us to shift Mete to the hospital,”" he told a Marathi news channel.

Mete's close aide said the Shiv Sangram Party leader had to leave for Mumbai from his home district Beed, a distance of 400 km, on short notice to attend a meeting on Sunday to discuss the next steps regarding the Maratha reservation.

"Mete had organised a Tiranga bike rally in his home district on Sunday. However, on late Saturday afternoon, he was informed about a meeting scheduled on Sunday to discuss the next steps for the Maratha reservation. He left for Mumbai on short notice but met with a fatal accident,”" he said.

Ajit Pawar said the driver of Mete's SUV may have dozed off leading to the accident.

Pawar expressed concern over the odd timings at which the people in public life had to travel sometimes.

He said a detailed investigation will identify the circumstances surrounding the road accident.

Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant demanded a thorough probe into Mete's death in the accident.

"There should be a thorough probe. Despite the recent political developments in Maharashtra, Mete never uttered a single word. Then why was he suddenly called for a meeting (in Mumbai)? Who made a call to him?" he asked.

Dilip Patil and Abasaheb Patil, who represent various Maratha groups that support the demand for quota for the community, also raised doubts over Mete suddenly being called to Mumbai for a meeting.

Condolences poured in for Mete from across the political spectrum.

Maharashtra minister and former state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said Mete's death was a huge loss for them and the Maratha community.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said Mete focussed more on social issues than political ones.

He was more of a social activist than a political leader who pursued the demand of reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.

Congress leader and former chairman of a Maharashtra sub-committee on Maratha reservation Ashok Chavan said, “It is unfortunate to lose a leader like Mete. "Despite we being in different political parties, Mete and I were almost on the same page over the issue of Maratha reservation in the state."

”Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said the untimely death of Vinayak Mete, who struggled for securing the Maratha reservation, is painful.

"I have seen his dedication and insistence for securing quota for the Maratha community. His death has created a huge void," he said.

In 2008, Mete and some other activists of his outfit had attacked the Thane-based residence of Kumar Ketkar, the then editor of a Marathi daily, to protest an editorial in the newspaper against the then state government's decision to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea.

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