Former Maharashtra Home Minister and senior Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday called for an investigation under the supervision of a High Court judge into the plane crash that killed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, saying it was necessary to dispel public “suspicion” and “doubt” over whether the incident was an accident or an act of sabotage, reported the PTI.
The plane crash occurred at Baramati in Pune district on January 28, claiming the lives of NCP chief Ajit Pawar and four others.
Referring to comments made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Deshmukh said questions had emerged following contradictory explanations surrounding the crash.
Speaking to a television news channel, Deshmukh noted that the Civil Aviation Minister had initially attributed the accident to poor visibility during landing and an inadequately visible airstrip. However, he pointed out that videos circulating in the public domain appeared to show the aircraft tilting mid-air before suddenly flipping and crashing, as per the PTI.
“These visuals have raised serious doubts about whether this was merely an accident or something more sinister,” Deshmukh said.
Calls for independent and transparent probe
Deshmukh stressed that while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would carry out its statutory investigation, the sensitivity of the matter warranted additional oversight.
He said several senior NCP leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, as well as MLAs such as Amol Mitkari, had also expressed concerns over the manner in which the crash took place, as per the PTI.
Supporting Sanjay Raut’s demand, Deshmukh said a probe monitored by a High Court judge would ensure transparency and help establish the truth.
“Only such an investigation can clearly determine whether this was sabotage or an accident, and reassure the people of Maharashtra and the country,” he added, the news agency reported.
In the wake of the tragedy, Deshmukh also urged Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to avoid travelling in small private chartered aircraft, citing safety concerns.
Talks on possible NCP merger
Deshmukh further disclosed that several rounds of talks had taken place between the ruling NCP faction and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) over a possible merger.
According to him, the NCP (SP) leadership held 14 meetings with Ajit Pawar, many of which he personally attended along with leaders such as Shashikant Shinde, Harshvardhan Patil, Rajesh Tope, Jitendra Awhad, Rohit Pawar, Supriya Sule and Jayant Patil, the PTI reported.
He revealed that one meeting at Jayant Patil’s residence lasted from 10 pm to 3 am, involving detailed discussions. Another meeting was held between Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare.
Deshmukh said further disclosures would be made after the mourning period concludes.
“At present, this is not the appropriate time. Once the period of mourning ends, our leaders will reveal where the meetings took place, who attended them, and what decisions were discussed,” he said, adding that Supriya Sule would address the matter in due course, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)