Mumbai: The final rites of renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata were performed with full state honours at a central Mumbai crematorium on Thursday evening.
The Mumbai police paid tribute to Tata with a gun salute. His 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.
The last rites were performed as per the Parsi tradition, one of the priests present at the crematorium said. 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, he said.
Earlier, Ratan Tata's mortal remains were taken from Mumbai's NCPA to Worli for final rites. His 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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid respects to Ratan Tata here. Shah arrived at the NCPA in south Mumbai with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Shah paid homage to the mortal remains of Tata on behalf of the Centre.
Thousands of people from different walks of life, including politicians and corporate leaders, paid homage to Ratan Tata, whose identity transcended beyond being the top industry icon.
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.
Earlier, the Maharashtra government had declared a day of mourning in the state on Thursday to pay tributes to Ratan Tata, the Chief Minister's Office said.
The mortal remains of Ratan Tata were taken from his residence on Thursday morning in a hearse adorned with white flowers, heading to the NCPA for public tributes. Before the hearse departed, the Mumbai police band performed a tribute in his honour.
Ratan Tata, the revered industrialist credited with transforming the Tata Group into a global powerhouse, passed away at the age of 86 on Wednesday night at Breach Candy Hospital here. His death has prompted an outpouring of condolences from across the nation.
From early Thursday morning, people from various sectors gathered outside Tata's residence to pay their respects. Notably, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was among the first to arrive.
CM Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other prominent figures, including industrialist Mukesh Ambani, rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news.
