Ajit Pawar plane crash Maharashtra CID to incorporate zero FIR lodged by NCP SP MLA in probe

Pune, Apr 19 (PTI) The Maharashtra CID will incorporate a Zero FIR lodged by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar in Bengaluru into its ongoing investigation into the January 28 plane crash that killed then Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, a senior officer said on Sunday.
    Rohit Pawar had lodged the "Zero" FIR last month under Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, weeks after the fatal incident. The complaint was later sent to the Baramati Taluka police station in Pune district, which has since forwarded it to the CID, police said.
    A Zero FIR is a first information report (FIR) registered at any police station, regardless of whether the crime was committed within its jurisdiction.
    Rohit Pawar had claimed that he had to lodge the 'zero FIR' in Karnataka as the police in Maharashtra did not register a case on his complaint regarding the Baramati air crash.
    A Pune Rural Police officer confirmed that the Baramati Taluka police station had received the Zero FIR from Bengaluru Police and referred it to the CID.
    "The CID is already probing an Accidental Death Report registered with Pune Rural Police following the crash. The Zero FIR received from Bengaluru will be treated as a statement under Section 180 of the BNSS and factored into our probe," said Maharashtra CID chief and Additional Director General of Police Sunil Ramanand.
    Section 180 of the BNSS deals with the examination of witnesses by police during an investigation.
    A Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed at Baramati airport on the morning of January 28 while en route from Mumbai to Baramati, killing Ajit Pawar and four others.
    The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is conducting a separate inquiry and submitted its preliminary findings on February 28.
    As part of the standard procedure, Pune Rural Police had registered an ADR, setting the CID probe in motion.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)