Ajit Pawar plane crash: NCP urges CBI probe amid claims of conspiracy

Mumbai: NCP leader Sunetra Pawar along with other party leaders on Tuesday met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding a CBI probe into the aircraft crash that killed Ajit Pawar and four others on January 28.

State NCP president Sunil Tatkare said, "Today a delegation led by Sunetra Pawar, Praful Patel, Hasan Mushrif and Parth Pawar met the chief minister and gave a memorandum seeking a CBI probe into the crash. The CM has said that the state government would be writing to the Union home ministry on Wednesday requesting the CBI to probe the issue."

He added, "CBI will be investigating all the angles... All the issues would be looked into and we want the probe to be completed as soon as possible and the findings to be brought before the people."


The NCP's move to seek a CBI probe seems to be forced after the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP claimed that Ajit's death was not an accident but a conspiracy. Rohit Pawar, grand nephew of Sharad Pawar has alleged that Ajit Pawar's death was not a simple accident. Among other things, Rohit has alleged that Ajit was not supposed to fly in that aircraft on the said day and has questioned the change of pilots while also hinting that the aircraft could have been sabotaged or the senior pilot being "pressured". Rohit also has been claiming that VSR, the company that operated the Learjet aircraft, was not being probed.

With Rohit Pawar repeatedly calling for an investigation and claiming that his uncle's (Ajit) death was a conspiracy, the NCP (Ajit) was put in a difficult position.