Maharashtra MLA Rohit Pawar has made another explosive allegation against the VSR Ventures, the aviation company that operated the chartered flight that crashed and killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, stating they put the life of Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde at risk.
Pawar was holding a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday, after raising objections against the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s preliminary report on the accident. Pawar raised questions about the credibility of the investigation in a press conference.
Pawar stated that he was not against private companies like VSR or the DGCA, but alleged that there was a conscious attempt to save someone.
The MLA claimed that the VSR company made a major negligence during Eknath Shinde’s Davos tour in 2023 that put his life at risk. He alleged that Pawar went to Davos between January 16 and 20, 2023. “In international travel, a flight plan has to be given, and permission from other countries has to be obtained. If a plane enters that country without permission, it can even be shot down, and something similar happened in the case of Eknath Shinde Saheb," he claimed.
Pawar alleged that after refuelling the plane, it went through Iranian territory while on its way to Zurich. The Iranian authorities then warned to shoot down the plane if it didn’t turn back. The plane then flew over the Iraqi territory, where the same thing happened, Pawar alleged, adding that Shinde himself was on the plane.
“As the fuel was running low, the plane was brought back to Bahrain. After three hours, all the permissions were obtained, and then it went to Zurich. So we are saying that do not trust VSR. Eknath Shinde can tell more about this,” Pawar said, adding that there was data from Bahrain to prove this.
He said Shinde could have faced the same fate as Ajit Pawar. “Has the DGS released any information about this? Can Eknath Shinde clearly state this?" he also said.
He said the VSR was untrustworthy, and said the company was banned for six months in the UAE for extorting huge amounts of money from patients by selling private jet tickets during the COVID period. “We believe that this company did such things deliberately, if not lazily, in the case of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra as well."