Ajit Pawar plane crash probe: NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar to present details on Feb 10 as doubts persist | India News
New Delhi: NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar on Saturday said he will present a detailed presentation on the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on February 10. He said questions and doubts remain about the circumstances of the incident, which will be resolved during the briefing in Mumbai.Speaking to reporters after voting in the Baramati Zilla Parishad elections, Rohit Pawar said several questions remain unanswered about how and why the accident took place. He added that the upcoming presentation will address these concerns in detail.“Everyone has questions and doubts. Why the accident happened and how it could have happened – these issues will be raised on February 10,” he said.Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections were held on Saturday for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samiti. Elections were postponed after the death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on 28 January.Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others when a chartered Learjet crashed while attempting to land at the table-top airstrip at Baramati in Pune district. Among the dead were his personal security officer, pilot, co-pilot and a flight attendant.Rohit Pawar said that the late leader had sought unity among the rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party and efforts to unify would continue. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and the NCP jointly contested the Zilla Parishad elections, with candidates contesting the latter’s ‘clock’ symbol.“Ajit Dada sincerely wished that everyone should be united in one family. Today everyone is united. Dada tried, we will continue to try the same way. The family is still united,” said Rohit Pawar.Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that Ajit Pawar’s death could be the result of a political conspiracy and demanded a Supreme Court-supervised probe.Citing reports that Pawar is considering quitting the BJP and joining the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), Banerjee said, “I demand a proper probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court. We have faith only in the Supreme Court. All other agencies are completely compromised.”He described Pawar’s death as a big loss and said he is expected to return to the core of his team.The opposition MLA, who represents the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahiliyanagar district, also said he would explain the reasons and motives behind the proposed party merger on February 12.“I will explain why there is to be a merger and for what purpose. Whether Ajit Dada’s motive was political or emotional, I will clarify on February 12,” he said.Regarding the investigation into the accident, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol said that the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are making fast progress.Providing an update, Mahal said the aircraft’s black box has been recovered and is being analysed.“The black box has been recovered, and the AAIB team and DGCA are working on it. The data will be downloaded, followed by analysis and an investigation. After that a preliminary report will be released,” Mohol said.He added that investigation teams from AAIB and DGCA’s Mumbai regional office reached the accident site on the day of the incident and AAIB Director General personally supervised the initial investigation.The investigation is being conducted under Rules 5 and 11 of the AAIB Rules, 2025, to determine the sequence of events when the aircraft attempted to land in the reported poor visibility.Authorities cautioned against drawing premature conclusions, noting that these findings would be based on technical analysis of black box data.
