Ajit Pawar cremated with full state honours; Amit Shah, Nabin attend funeral
Baramati (PTI): The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, killed in a plane crash, were held with full state honours on Thursday at Baramati in Pune district.
Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, former Union minister Sharad Pawar and BJP president Nitin Nabin attended the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief’s funeral at the Vidya Pratishthan ground at Baramati, around 100 km from Pune.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde were also present, along with Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, who is a Rajya Sabha member, and sons Parth and Jay. Ajit Pawar's cousin Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha member from Baramati, and NCP working president and former Union minister Praful Patel were also present.
Thousands of people gathered for Ajit Pawar's last rites chanted "Ajit Dada amar rahe", when his mortal remains, draped in the national flag, were brought from his village Katewadi to the Vidya Pratishthan ground.
Shah, Gadkari, Nabin, Fadnavis, Union minister Ramdas Athawale, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Eknath Shinde, former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh were among the leaders who placed floral wreaths on Pawar's mortal remains.
Parth and Jay lit their father's funeral pyre.
On Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Ajit Pawar were taken from the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Hospital in Baramati, where they were kept overnight, to his village.
Pawar and four other persons on board the aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip.
The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
Their mortal remains have been handed over to their families, hospital sources said.
Police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) case in connection with the plane crash, an official said.
The government Wednesday released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Ajit Pawar's death.
The aircraft was cleared for landing after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance, it did not give any read-back to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames near the edge of the airstrip.
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said the "black box" (comprising the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorde) of the Learjet aircraft has been recovered.
VIDEO | Baramati: Leaders pay their last respects to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the Vidya Pratishthan ground.#Maharashtra #MaharashtraPlaneCrash #AjitPawar
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 29, 2026
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/dv5TRAShcC) pic.twitter.com/thYvpPTp8j
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
US cyber agency chief Madhu Gottumukkala under scrutiny for uploading sensitive files to ChatGPT
Washington: Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala, the acting head of the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is facing scrutiny after reportedly uploading sensitive government documents to the public version of ChatGPT, triggering automated security alerts and an internal review.
According to a report by Politico, Gottumukkala uploaded documents related to government contracts and cybersecurity matters during the summer of 2025 for official work purposes. While the documents were not classified, they were marked “For Official Use Only” (FOUO), meaning they were not intended for public disclosure.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Politico that the uploads activated internal safeguards designed to flag the sharing of protected government material on public platforms. The incident prompted an internal review to determine whether any sensitive information may have been exposed.
The development has drawn attention because CISA is the federal agency responsible for protecting US government networks from advanced cyber threats, including those believed to be backed by foreign states such as Russia and China.
Who Is Madhu Gottumukkala?
Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala, who is of Indian origin, currently serves as the acting director of CISA. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from Dakota State University, an MBA in Engineering and Technology Management from the University of Dallas, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University.
What triggered the ChatGPT security concern?
The controversy centres on the use of ChatGPT, a public artificial intelligence platform developed by OpenAI. Information entered into the public version of the tool may be stored and used to improve the system, raising concerns about whether government-related data could have been inadvertently retained or exposed.
Although the materials uploaded were not classified, officials emphasised that FOUO documents are still considered sensitive and subject to strict handling protocols.
CISA’s response
CISA sought to play down concerns surrounding the incident. In an email response to Politico, agency spokesperson Marci McCarthy said Gottumukkala had official permission to use ChatGPT under specific DHS safeguards.
“Acting Director Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala last used ChatGPT in mid-July 2025 under an authorised temporary exception,” McCarthy said, adding that CISA’s standard policy remains to block access to ChatGPT unless a formal exception is granted.
The issue has attracted added attention due to previous reports involving Gottumukkala. Politico had earlier reported that several CISA employees were placed on leave after Gottumukkala allegedly failed a polygraph test that he had supported introducing. Gottumukkala has disputed that account and told lawmakers that he did not agree with that characterisation.
