Ajit Pawar’s last rites today in Baramati with state honours

The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will be held in Baramati with full state honours. He was killed along with four others in a Learjet crash, prompting a three-day state mourning and a detailed investigation.

Baramati: The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar will be held on Thursday in his political stronghold, Baramati, with full state honours, following his tragic death in a plane crash.

Ajit Pawar’s mortal remains have been kept at the Vidya Pratishtan ground to enable people to pay their final respects. A large gathering of supporters, party workers and locals is expected to visit the venue throughout the day.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several senior political leaders are scheduled to attend the funeral ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also expected to be present at the last rites of the Deputy Chief Minister.

In view of the tragic demise, the Maharashtra government has announced a three-day state mourning. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all government buildings across the state.

Meanwhile, police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the plane crash. Additionally, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken over the probe.

Deputy CM Pawar and four others were killed when a Learjet 45 aircraft crashed near Baramati Airport on Wednesday morning.

The aircraft, bearing registration number VT-SSK, was operated by VSR Ventures.

Apart from Deputy CM Pawar, the people onboard the plane, Learjet 45 aircraft (registration VT-SSK) operated by VSR, included a personal security officer (PSO), a flight attendant, and two crew members — a Pilot-in-Command (PIC) and a Second-in-Command (SIC).

The deceased have been identified as Vidip Jadhav (male), Pinky Mali (female). Additionally, the crew members were PIC Sumit Kapur and SIC Shambhavi Pathak, according to the passenger list.

According to the comprehensive account provided by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the aircraft involved was a Learjet 45 with registration VT-SSK, managed by the operator VSR Ventures.

The flight had been granted authorisation to touch down on Runway 11 at exactly 8:43 a.m. after the flight crew had previously decided to abort an initial landing sequence.

However, a chilling silence followed as Air Traffic Control personnel failed to receive any verbal acknowledgement or readback from the cockpit crew after the landing clearance was transmitted.

The situation turned catastrophic just sixty seconds later at 8:44 a.m. when ground controllers witnessed a sudden burst of flames erupting near the threshold of the tabletop runway.

This incident has also brought scrutiny to the operator, VSR Ventures, which maintains a fleet of 17 aircraft.

The Ministry pointed out a concerning precedent, noting that on September 14, 2023, another Learjet 45 owned by the same company, with registration VT-DBL, suffered a separate accident during a landing attempt at Mumbai Airport.

That previous incident remains under an ongoing investigation by the authorities.