Death of Ajit Pawar: Anil Deshmukh demands fresh probe into air crash

Former Maharashtra Home Minister and Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Anil Deshmukh rejected the ongoing CID investigation into the air crash which killed late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and demanded a fresh probe on Tuesday.

“I support Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s demand for an inquiry into Ajit Dada ‘s air crash. Many senior leaders have raised doubts about this accident. Even Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal spoke yesterday. The reason given was that visibility was low, but it is not clear from the videos that have been accessed from that place. Nobody believes the reason given by the Union Ministry about visibility problems. So, this case should be investigated properly. The CID and Directorate General of Civil Aviation will investigate, but the truth can come out only if this investigation is conducted under the control of a High Court judge,” the former home minister said.

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“As a former home minister, I know how the CID investigates. My demand is that the investigation should be conducted under the supervision of a High Court judge. Sanjay Raut also made that demand. I support his demand. What exactly happened should come to light. If I ever meet Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, I will tell him that you should avoid travelling in private planes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari demanded the release of all CCTV footage of Ajit Pawar’s flight, even before the DGCA releases its black box verification report. “All video and CCTV footage of respected Ajit Dada from the main entrance of Mumbai Airport to boarding the aircraft on January 28, 2026 should be immediately officially released even before the DGCA comes out with its black box verification report,” Mitkari tweeted from his X handle on Tuesday.

Mitkari also questioned whether there were five persons on the flight which carried Ajit Pawar of six persons. He produced a burnt paper recovered from the air crash site which seems to suggest that there were six persons on the flight which carried Ajit Pawar.

“The sarpanch of the nearby village said that he saw somebody jumping out of the aircraft just before it exploded into flames. So we will have to find out whether the flight carried five people or six people,” he said on Tuesday, repeating questions he had raised earlier.

Another Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Advocate Rupali Thombre Patil also questioned the events that led to the accident. “It is being claimed that both Captain Madan and Captain Yash were stuck in traffic while the scheduled flight was at 8 am. What was the exact reason behind both of them being late at the same time? Facts regarding the sudden change of pilots have not yet been made public. This matter should be thoroughly investigated,” he said.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar remarked, “Daal mein kuch kaala hai. (There’s something fishy). “The question remains as to why the pilot was changed at the eleventh hour. The pilot whose name was originally listed is still alive because he either couldn’t arrive on time or was replaced by another pilot named (Sumit) Kapoor.”

Wadettiwar demanded a thorough investigation to find out the “mystery behind the incident”.

Incidentally, Sumit Kapoor was the pilot-in-command on the Learjet 45 aircraft which crashed in Baramati on January 28, killing Kapoor himself, Ajit Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s security officer Vidip Jadhav, first officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak and flight attendant Pinky Mali. It has been alleged that pilots originally assigned to Ajit Pawar’s chartered flight were unable to reach the airport on time due to heavy traffic. Kapoor was then reportedly asked to step in hours before the flight was scheduled to depart from Mumbai to Baramati.