Ratan Tata cremated in Mumbai with full state honours

Mumbai: At a crematorium in central Mumbai on Thursday evening, the last rites for well-known industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata was performed with full state honours.

Tata, the 86-year-old recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, passed away late on Wednesday night at the Breach Candy Hospital following a brief illness.

The Mumbai police paid tribute to Tata with a gun salute.

The industry titan's family members, including the half-brother Noel Tata, and top executives from the Tata Group like chairman N Chandrasekaran, were present at the crematorium in Worli, PTI reported.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, his cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, Congress leader and former CM Sushilkumar Shinde, among others, were also present.

The last rites were performed as per the Parsi tradition, one of the priests present at the crematorium. After the funeral, there will be three more days of rituals, which will be conducted at the late industrialist's bungalow in Colaba, south Mumbai.

Earlier today, Tata's body was kept at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai for the public to pay respects from around 10.30 am to 3.55 pm, where thousands of people from different walks of life flocked in.

As the news of Tata's demise spread, people from different walks of life gathered outside his house early Thursday morning to pay tribute to him.

The Maharashtra government has declared a day of mourning in the state on Thursday to pay tributes to Ratan Tata, the Chief Minister's Office said.

A statement quoting CM Shinde said the national tricolour on government offices in Maharashtra will be flown at halfmast on Thursday as a sign of mourning.

Top business and political leaders pay homage

Thousands of people from different walks of life, including politicians and corporate leaders, gathered at the NCPA here on Thursday to pay homage to the legendary Ratan Tata, whose identity transcended beyond being the top industry icon.

The body of Ratan Tata was brought from his Colaba home in a hearse decked with white flowers to the NCPA in south Mumbai. The mortal remains were kept at the NCPA in a casket with a tricolour covering it.

Before the hearse carrying Tata's mortal remains left from his home, located a couple of kilometres away from the NCPA, the Mumbai Police band played a tune as a mark of respect to him.

Several people had gathered outside his house also since early morning to pay tribute. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was among the early visitors at Tata's home.

Among the early ones who arrived to pay respect were Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar, his daughter MP Supriya Sule, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, finance industry stalwart Deepak Parekh and Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das.

Even before Tata's mortal remains were brought to the NCPA from his residence, many people waited patiently in queues to get a last glimpse of the person who held immense respect in their hearts for different reasons.

Leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and assembly speaker and local MLA Rahul Narwekar were among those who reached the NCPA.

The employees and top executives of the Tata group were also present to pay respect.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, Special Commissioner Deven Bharti and Joint Commissioner of Police Satya Narayan Chowdhary were among the top officials who also paid homage to Tata at the NCPA lawns.

In view of the heavy footfall anticipated at the NCPA, the Mumbai police have beefed up security arrangements and also imposed traffic restrictions in parts of Nariman Point.