Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari ridiculed the 22-page Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) preliminary report into the late Ajit Pawar’s air crash as a document written under the influence of alcohol or ganja (marijuana).
Speaking to media persons on Monday, Mitkari said, “This preliminary report is extremely flawed. It claims that the aircraft first hit a tree. It does not make any sense. It seems like this report was written after consuming alcohol or ganja”.
Mitkari said that a viral video posted by the late Ajit Pawar’s younger son Jai Pawar on his social media account, which supposedly shows VSR Ventures owner Rohit Singh dozing off to sleep in the pilot’s seat on an aircraft in mid-flight, “is a very serious matter”.
“The video posted by Jai Pawar is a serious matter because it raises questions about the safety of air passengers. If Rohit Singh is a serious offender, he must be arrested immediately and VSR Ventures should be banned from doing business. If the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) does not take immediate and strict action against VSR Ventures, it will have to face serious consequences,” Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari said.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the investigation into the January 28 air crash which killed the late Ajit Pawar, Mitkari said, “Reasons for the air crash like bad weather are not acceptable. The aircraft had suddenly disappeared from the radar and hence, the possibility of somebody tampering with the landing gear cannot be ruled out. Or was there any other ingredient mixed in with the fuel? Which caused the engine to shut down while still in the air?”
“Since this is the era of social media, we have come to know that Sumit Kapoor (the pilot who flew Ajit Pawar) went to California to meet his daughter. The DGCA first said that there were 6 people in the aircraft, and then it said that bodies of 5 people were found. This means that Sumit Kapoor was not in that plane. So was pilot Shambhavi Pathak flying that aircraft? How much truth is there in this? It will be clear only after an investigation. The data from the black box must be opened before anything can be confirmed. Only then will it be known whose conversation was recorded. If Sumit Kapoor’s voice is recorded in it, then it can be found out that he was the pilot or not,” Mitkari said.
“Why is there so much resistance against registering an FIR? The police refused to register an FIR. So what is going to happen? My own party (Ajit Pawar-led NCP) leaders are asking me why I am talking so much about Ajit Pawar’s air crash? I don’t know why they are talking like this. I am only doing what I think is right,” Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari said.
Meanwhile, Amol Mitkari’s party leader Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Maharashtra Vice President Mohan Bhargad has accused Mitkari of “putting his own party in trouble and embarrassing it” by constantly raising the issue of Ajit Pawar’s air crash.
“Amol Mitkari expressed doubts about Ajit Pawar’s air crash and raised several issues in public. An investigation is being conducted into the plane crash, but Amol Mitkari has expressed his dissatisfaction about this investigation as well. Amol Mitkari was also seen with (opposition leader) Sharad Pawar-led MLA Rohit Pawar regarding the Ajit Pawar air crash issue. Are they taking a stand against our party? Amol Mitkari’s public demands for an investigation into the air crash case should have been made on the right platform, only after taking all party leaders into confidence. Mitkari’s stance has created the impression that only Mitkari is demanding an investigation into Ajit Pawar’s accident, and not the party or its leaders. This has spread misunderstanding. Our senior party leaders Sunil Tatkara and Praful Patel are being blamed by citizens on social media. The opposition has taken advantage of this. Amol Mitkari has put our party (Ajit Pawar-led NCP) in trouble,” Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Maharashtra Vice President Mohan Bhargad accused Mitkari.
Earlier on Monday, the late Ajit Pawar’s younger son Jai Pawar posted on social media, “I have read the preliminary report investigated by the AAIB. I am deeply saddened and pained to see that this report has not been prepared thoroughly”.
“The people of Maharashtra and all the families who lost their loved ones in this accident must get not just formal information, but truthful, transparent as well as comprehensive answers. We cannot rule out the possibility that other aircraft may have errors regarding the same issues due to which the DCGA has grounded some aircraft belonging to VSR Ventures. If serious errors are found in safety rules and procedures, then a strict decision must be taken regarding the entire VSR fleet, and not merely a few aircraft. Keeping the safety of passengers as the top priority, the DCGA should also consider completely suspending the operations of the entire VSR fleet, if necessary,” Jai Pawar stated.
Jai Pawar also posted a video which supposedly shows VSR Ventures owner Rohit Singh dozing off to sleep in the pilot’s seat on an aircraft. “We have lost my father. This pain will be with us for the rest of our lives. In this video, VSR owner Rohit Singh is seen sleeping in the chief pilot’s seat during the flight. There can be no such negligence while in the sky. This is very serious and shocking. I strongly demand that the DGCA take immediate and strict action in this case. All VSR aircraft should be grounded immediately until a complete investigation is conducted and Rohit Singh should be arrested immediately and strict legal action should be taken. This is a cry of a child for my father and for the safety of every passenger,” Jay Pawar posted on social media, along with the video, which has gone viral.
Reacting to the video posted by Jai Pawar, his cousin Yugendra Pawar, who is the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and son of the late Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Rajendra Pawar, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Maharashtra state assembly election on a Sharad Pawar-led NCP ticket, shared Jay Pawar’s video on this social media account and commented, “In this video, the owner of VSR, Rohit Singh, is seen sleeping while the plane is in flight, sitting in the pilot’s seat. This is very serious and it shows negligence towards the safety of the passengers. This video was brought to light by my brother Jai Pawar and it clearly shows the negligence of VSR Company. The central government should immediately look into this matter and conduct a thorough investigation, all flights of this company should be immediately suspended and cases should be immediately registered against the owner and all directors of the company,” Yugendra Pawar stated.