A catastrophic air disaster has bereft Maharashtra of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, spurring Pune Rural Police to register an ADR at Baramati over the Learjet wreckage. DGCA and AAIB specialists comb the site, unraveling the enigma of the VT-SSK’s fatal descent.
Holistic probes encompass crew actions, maintenance logs, and black box revelations, routed to CID for advanced sleuthing. In ancestral Kathewadi, the Pawar farm hosts a deluge of condolences en route to the 11 AM cremation at Baramati’s Vidya Pratisthan, graced by CM Fadnavis, Shinde, and peers.
Three days of official mourning drape the state in flags at half-mast. The VSR jet claimed Pawar, his security aide, attendant, passengers Vidit Jadhav and Pinky Mali, plus pilots Sumit Kapoor and Shambhavi Pathak. Such elite crashes spotlight regulatory gaps in non-scheduled ops.
Pawar’s demise disrupts alliances and development agendas he championed. With investigations accelerating, stakeholders anticipate game-changing safety mandates. His legacy of infrastructure triumphs and political savvy endures, even as Maharashtra navigates this profound leadership vacuum.