4-member DGCA team visits Ajit Pawar plane crash site in Baramati
Pune (PTI): A four-member team of senior DGCA officials has visited the site of the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others last month near Baramati in Pune district.
During their visit on Wednesday, they reviewed the CCTV camera footage and videos linked to the January 28 incident, said local officials.
Ajit Pawar, Captain Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav, and flight attendant Pinky Mali were killed when the Learjet aircraft they were on board crashed near the Baramati airport in Pune district.
ALSO READ: Wait for DGCA probe to conclude in Ajit Pawar plane crash case, says CM Fadnavis
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation after the death of Pawar and four others after the plane crash, Baramati has an ‘uncontrolled airfield’ (one without a dedicated Air Traffic Control), and traffic information is provided by instructors/pilots from the local flying training organisations.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu had said the investigation into the plane crash would follow a time-bound approach.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had visited the site, and the Black Box of the ill-fated aircraft had been recovered.
An official on January 30 stated that the Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID) had initiated its probe into the plane crash.
NCP (SP) MLA and late Ajit Pawar's nephew, Rohit Pawar, had raised several questions regarding the sequence of events leading up to the plane crash.
He alleged that there was a reason to suspect sabotage in the tragic incident and demanded a comprehensive probe by multiple expert agencies.
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No 'boat' symbol on ballot for first time in 30 years in Bangladesh's election
Dhaka (PTI): For the first time in 30 years, the election symbol of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League – boat – has not appeared on the ballot paper in Bangladesh's crucial general election, voting for which is being held on Thursday.
This is the first election since Hasina was ousted after massive nationwide protests in August 2024.
The Interim government banned all party activities of the Awami League on May 12 last year and soon afterwards, the Election Commission suspended the party’s registration.
One of the country's oldest political parties, the Awami League, has boycotted parliamentary elections twice in the past. This time, however, it is unable to take part at all, as its registration remains suspended, BDNews24 reported.
The government has said the ban will remain in place until trials at the Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (BD-ICT) are completed.
As a result, the party's symbol will not feature even on the postal ballots, the report said.
However, this is not the first time. The Awami League boycotted elections in 1988 and again in 1996 amid political movements.
In total, the boat symbol has been absent from the ballot paper in three of Bangladesh’s 13 parliamentary elections, it said.
Since the introduction of the political party registration system in 2008, a total of 63 parties have been registered. Of these, registration of three parties has been cancelled, while one remains suspended this year.
Of the remaining 59 registered parties, 51 are contesting the 13th parliamentary election. Including both party-nominated and independent candidates, there are a total of 2,009 candidates across 299 out of 300 parliamentary constituencies in the country.
Bangladesh faced an upheaval after 77-year-old Hasina's ouster following weeks of student-led protests over a controversial quota system in government jobs that escalated into a nationwide campaign calling for the end of her 16-year regime.
Hasina left Bangladesh for India on August 5, 2024, months after she had secured a fourth straight term as prime minister.
The interim government imposed a ban on all activities of the party on May 12 last year. Soon afterwards, the Election Commission suspended the party’s registration.
The BD-ICT handed her the death sentence after trial in absentia last year accusing her of committing crimes against humanity to tame the violent protest, dubbed July Uprising, that toppled her government.
The cases relate to allegations including enforced disappearances, killings, people being burned alive, illegal detention, inhuman torture, looting, arson and crimes against humanity committed during efforts to suppress the uprising.
As a result, the party, which governed Bangladesh for more than two decades across six separate terms, has been barred from contesting the election.
