New Delhi (India) February 11:Rohit Pawar, the head of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party today said the death of his uncle and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on January 26 was due to a conspiracy. He is the first among the first family to put forth such a suggestion. 

Rohit Pawar's Bombshell Claim on Ajit Pawar's Death

Rohit Pawar said during a presentation in Mumbai on the air crash which killed Ajit Pawar and four others last month. When briefing on the incident, he said that the prelude to the crash itself deserves much closer scrutiny.
Pawar said, “Everyone has this question in their mind: was it an accident or something else? Did the plane carry excess fuel tanks? CCTV footage should be scanned to see if they did. Such an act is not just illegal, but also acts as a bomb. Was the pilot directed to save fuel? Why didn’t they take another roundabout? Was there an alternative for landing?”

Missing Transponder Data

In the press conference, Rohit Pawar urged the investigating agencies to investigate the Ajit Pawar plane crash.
He said, “AAIB (UK), BEA, NTSB - either of them should investigate, apart from govt investigation.”
“Transponder details are not available for the last one minute. Why was the transponder shut down at the last minute at 8:43? What happened at the last minute when the flight was aligned to the runway? Why isn’t the main pilot’s voice recorded anywhere? Had he decided that he had to take the flight in some other direction?” he added.

Eyewitness Reports Strange Noises Before Stall

Rohit Pawar questions the maintenance of the plane on eye-witness evidence where a woman's account describes strange noises from the aircraft.
“Why was the plane stalled? Where is the techlog of the craft? Where is the airworthy report of the craft? Who had done the routine check-up?, he asked.

VSR Company's Shady History with Regulators

He also alleges that VSR Company, which owned the Learjet aircraft, wielded influence over aviation regulators.
“The final probe report of the 2023 crash involving a VSR company aircraft has already been submitted. Even now, VSR company planes continue to be used by high-ranking political leaders. Why was the company’s licence never cancelled?” Pawar asked.

Urgent Call for Probe into Baramati Crash

Rohit Pawar also cited a myriad of technical and operational problems such as whether the aircraft's transponder had been switched off, why a difficult runway was chosen despite poor visibility, and why the Learjet flight attempted to land under those conditions.
Ajit Pawar was killed on January 28 after a chartered plane crashed as he tried to land at the table-top airstrip in Baramati, Pune district. Four other people, including his personal security officer, the pilot, co-pilot and a flight attendant also died in the crash.