Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on a private visit to Mahabaleshwar in Satara district on Monday to attend the funeral of a family friend, a party source said. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha arrived in Pune on Sunday evening, stayed at a hotel in Koregaon Park area, and left in the morning for Mahabaleshwar to attend the funeral of Raiyan B Banaji, son of leading Mumbai ophthalmologist Dr Burjor P Banaji.
A sports enthusiast and an online trader, Raiyan, 35, passed away a few days ago when he had gone to play a rugby tournament in Lisbon, Portugal. During a game early this month, Raiyan suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away, and his body reached the family’s native town of Mahabaleshwar on Monday.
“Gandhi’s visit to Pune and Mahabaleshwar was private. Party leaders and workers were instructed not to meet him,” a Congress leader from Pune said.
