Saudi Arabia puts 81 to death in its largest mass execution
Dubai, Mar 12: Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history.
The number of executed surpassed even the toll of a January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979, the worst-ever militant attack to target the kingdom and Islam's holiest site.
It wasn't clear why the kingdom choose Saturday for the executions, though they came as much of the world's attention remained focused on Russia's war on Ukraine and as the U.S. hopes to lower record-high gasoline prices as energy prices spike worldwide. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly plans a trip to Saudi Arabia next week over oil prices as well.
The number of death penalty cases being carried out in Saudi Arabia had dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, though the kingdom continued to behead convicts under King Salman and his assertive son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced Saturday's executions, saying they included those convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children."
A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 in neighboring Yemen in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
Those executed included 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The report did not say where the executions took place.
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Ajit Pawar death: ‘Zero FIR’ registered in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): The Bengaluru police have registered a case related to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash in Baramati on a complaint by his nephew Rohit Pawar, who has alleged that the tragedy was a result of a "larger criminal conspiracy” to eliminate his uncle.
Pawar was killed on January 28 when a Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Private Limited, crashed near Baramati Airport, Pune, Maharashtra.
The aircraft was on a flight from Mumbai to Baramati and was carrying Ajit Pawar and four others on board, who were all killed in the crash.
Based on the complaint, the High Grounds police registered ‘Zero FIR’, which can be registered at any police station, irrespective of where the offence was committed.
“We have registered a zero FIR and transferred it to the Maharashtra police for investigation,” a senior police officer told PTI.
Rohit Pawar said he had previously approached Marine Drive Police Station on February 25 and Baramati Police Station on February 26 without an FIR being registered, “and was subsequently informed by Pune CID that they were examining only the Accidental Death Report angle”.
“The complainant contends that the incident was a result of a larger criminal conspiracy aimed at eliminating the Deputy Chief Minister,” the complaint read.
Rohit claimed that there were “systematic violations” of aviation safety regulations, deliberate falsification of records, gross negligence in maintenance and operations, and a pattern of conduct which led to the incident.
According to him, on February 24, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its safety audit report “declared and admitted” that aircraft of the VSR Company were “negligent, not airworthy” and therefore were grounded as part of the DGCA investigation in the crash of the charter plane.
He alleged that the aircraft VT-SSK was being operated in systematic violation of mandatory safety standards.
At the time of the crash, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 4,915 flight hours, leaving only about 85 hours before the mandatory engine Time Before Overhaul ('TBO') threshold of 5,000 hours was reached, he charged.
“Despite operating dangerously close to this limit, VSR continued to deploy the aircraft for commercial operations, placing the crew and passengers at heightened risk of mechanical malfunction,” said Rohit Pawar.
He suspected that the aircraft may have infact accumulated flight hours in excess of 8,000 hours, far beyond its certified safe operational limits.
“This deliberate suppression and misrepresentation of flight data amounts to falsification of statutory maintenance records and constitutes a serious violation of aviation safety regulations as enumerated in the complaint,” Rohit Pawar said.
He charged that “this pattern of falsification” allowed continued commercial operation of a fundamentally unsafe aircraft.
“The DGCA's certification records for aircraft VT-SSK disclose procedurally anomalous and potentially fabricated documentation. The Airworthiness Certificate for the aircraft was issued on December 16, 2021, while the Aircraft Registration Certificate was only issued on 27th December 2022, a full year later.”
Standard aviation procedure requires that registration precede airworthiness certification.
“This reversal of prescribed sequence suggests either gross administrative failure or deliberate manipulation of records at the DGCA level,” Rohit said.
He also alleged that the Chief Pilot Sumit Kapoor, who commanded the aircraft on the day of the crash, had a documented history of alcohol-related violations, leading to a three-year suspension of his flying privileges by the DGCA.
“The original crew scheduled for the flight, Captain Sahil Madan and Co-pilot Yash, were last-minute replaced by Kapoor and Co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, purportedly because the original crew was 'stuck in traffic' at 6.30 am. This explanation is implausible given the time of day,” Rohit stated.
Rohit said Ajit Pawar had originally planned to travel to Pune by road on the evening of January 27 with a full motorcade arranged.
“He remained in Mumbai without disclosed reason. The flight itself was delayed by seventy minutes from its original 7 am departure, with no credible explanation provided. The crew initially requested the safer Runway 29 and then, two minutes later, switched to Runway 11, the more dangerous tabletop runway without any apparent operational justification,” Rohit alleged.
In the final recorded seconds of the flight, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak said something while Kapoor was entirely silent.
This complete absence of response from the commanding pilot in a life-threatening emergency is consistent with either incapacitation due to alcohol or deliberate inaction.
