Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rohit Pawar has made a highly sensational statement regarding the accident involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s aircraft. “There is definitely the hand of some influential person behind this accident,” Rohit Pawar, who is the son of Rajendra Pawar and Sunanda Rajendra Pawar, reportedly said.
The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA demanded that the plane crash be investigated not only from a technical angle but also from a criminal perspective. After the Marine Drive Police in Mumbai on Tuesday refused to register an FIR against the DGCA, Rohit Pawar reached the Baramati police station to file an FIR. It was while speaking to the media afterwards that Rohit Pawar made these claims.
Addressing the media, Rohit Pawar said that a report had been published by the DGCA two days ago. Following the release of the report, a group of NCP MLAs, including himself, had visited the Marine Drive police station in Mumbai demanding that an FIR be registered against the DGCA, Loksatta said in a report.
"We believe an FIR should be registered against VSR Ventures. We are here to support Rohit Dada in this fight. Our demand is that Ajit Dada should get justice and the investigation into the crash should be expedited," Yugendra Pawar, who was with Rohit, had told reporters.
"The conduct of the police has further intensified our suspicion regarding the plane crash. If, even after demands by elected representatives from both the opposition and ruling parties, the police are discarding the demand to register an FIR, it is unfortunate for Maharashtra," the MLA said in a post on X.
On Tuesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the grounding of four aircraft belonging to VSR Ventures over non-compliance with approved procedures in the areas of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations.
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When asked whether an FIR could be filed in Mumbai, he said that under the BNS law, he has the right to file a Zero FIR. Any citizen of the country has the right to file an FIR. However, since the FIR was not registered there, he said he came to the Baramati police station, he reportedly told the press.
“We could have filed an FIR earlier, but we waited in order to go deeper into the matter. In its 24 February report, the DGCA pointed out faults in VSR Company. Five aircraft belonging to VSR Company were also grounded. If these aircraft were grounded, then was a defective aircraft mistakenly given to the late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, or was it given knowingly? This needs to be investigated,” Rohit Pawar said.
Meanwhile, the Baramati police sought time to consider his request. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is yet to issue its preliminary report into the fatal crash.
