"100% Sure It's Conspiracy": Rohit Pawar On Uncle Ajit's Plane Crash Death

Rohit Pawar, leader of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and grand nephew of the veteran politician, today said the death of his uncle and Maharashtra Deputy Chief  Minister Ajit Pawar on January 26 was the result of a conspiracy. He is the first within the first family of Maharashtra to make such a suggestion -- Sharad Pawar had earlier negated the possibility.

At a press conference in Mumbai this evening, Rohit Pawar gave a detailed presentation that included background information about the flight and the events of the day the crash took place.  "I can't say whether this is a political conspiracy or not, but it is 100% a conspiracy... For senior party leaders, this incident and its investigation are not important; what matters to them is retaining their position in power," he told reporters. . 

The accident, Rohit Pawar said, is being discussed because of the village panchayat's CCTV footage that showed the aircraft tilting before it crashed. "If it weren't for CCTV footage, only superficial or vague information would be available," he said. 

He also questioned Ajit Pawar's change of schedule, pointing out that the 66-year-old was very "cautious about flying".

"Dada was supposed to travel by car to Pune and then to Baramati. But he was delayed and decided to travel by plane," he said. 

Ajit Pawar, he said, had stayed back at the ministry to sign a file brought by a leader from Vidarbha. "Because of this delay, he could not travel to Pune by road on 27 January. Why the rush? Was it pre-decided that he would be sent by plane?" he added.

He also said two pilots were initially assigned to fly the plane but "in the morning, pilot Sumit Kapoor was given the responsibility" and questioned the last-minute change. 

He also pointed to conversations in a chat group  of pilots, saying Captain Sumit Kapoor had come from Hong Kong and questioned if he was drunk. "There are numerous WhatsApp chats against Captain Sumit Kapoor... He was warned several times in the group that he drinks too much," he said, displaying the chats. 

There were more loose ends, he indicated.

"Despite ATC instructing landing on Runway 29, the pilot repeatedly requested Runway 11, raising serious concerns... The aircraft's Stall Warning System, a critical safety feature, was allegedly switched off during the flight... The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captured almost no conversation; only the last words "Oh s**t" were recorded," he added.

Ajit Pawar died on January 26 when a small aircraft, a Learjet XR, carrying him from Mumbai to Pune's Baramati crashed during landing. Four others on board also died -- a pilot, a crew member and Pawar's security personnel. 

The aircraft, which took off from Mumbai at 8:10 am, crashed near Baramati airport half an hour later during a second approach. 

Following the crash, the Civil Aviation ministry has announced that it will inspect all uncontrolled airstrips.