Police refused to file FIR in Baramati plane crash; our suspicion growing stronger, says Rohit Pawar
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday claimed that the Mumbai police refused to file an FIR in connection with the plane crash, in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed, and said the refusal has deepened the suspicion surrounding the accident.
The government and the machinery appeared to be protecting someone, he alleged.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday directed the grounding of four aircraft of VSR Ventures, whose plane crashed at Baramati on January 28, killing Ajit Pawar and four others.
Following the crash of the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK), the aviation regulator had ordered a special safety audit of VSR Ventures, and the audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations.
In a message posted on a social media platform, Rohit Pawar claimed, "While awaiting appropriate action regarding Ajitdada's plane crash, yesterday the DGCA report arrived stating that this accident was caused by the negligence of VSR company."
However, since no FIR has been filed in this regard, he along with party MLC Amol Mitkari, Idris Naikwadi and MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar, went to the Marine Drive police station in south Mumbai to demand registration of an FIR under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.
He claimed that when the process to record his statement began, a senior police official refused to register the FIR and instead accepted their application merely as a formality.
"The conduct of the police has further intensified our suspicion regarding the plane crash. If even after demands by elected representatives from both the opposition and the ruling parties the police are discarding the demand to register an FIR, it is unfortunate for Maharashtra," Pawar, who represents the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district, said in the post.
The government and the machinery appeared to be protecting someone, he alleged, and questioned whether Ajit Pawar would get justice if such a situation persisted.
The NCP (SP) legislator said they would not relent until the matter is taken to its logical conclusion.
He added that at 9 am on Thursday, all those who love his uncle Ajit Pawar would go to the Baramati taluka police station to press for registration of an FIR.
While the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to come out with its preliminary report into the fatal crash before February 28, concerns have been raised in certain quarters claiming there could have been a conspiracy that led to the crash.
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‘Self-styled Vishwaguru stands exposed’: Cong's dig at PM over Pak role in US-Iran ceasefire
New Delhi (PTI): Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Wednesday said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US and Iran is a “severe setback” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “highly personalised diplomacy” and “the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed”.
The opposition party also said Prime Minister Modi's “cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House”.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
“The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India’s global stature and standing,” Ramesh claimed.
PM Modi had said nothing about Israel’s "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, Ramesh said.
“The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi’s highly personalised diplomacy,” he said.
The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded – unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.
That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi’s strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.
“He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then,” the Congress leader said.
“There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled,” Ramesh said.
“His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House,” the Congress leader added.
US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy the Iranian civilisation.
Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over unhinged threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US President said in a social media post.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.
