Thousands of people gathered at Vidya Pratishthan in Baramati to pay their respects. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

Highlights from Ajit Pawar’s funeral: Asserting that the government has zero tolerance towards air safety issues, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu said the probe into the air crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others would follow a time-bound approach. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Wings India 2026, he said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had reached the spot and the black box of the ill-fated plane had been recovered.

Extreme unction: The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who lost his life in a plane crash on Wednesday, were celebrated with full state honors on Thursday at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati. Pune around 11 am. His sons, Parth and Jay, lit the funeral pyre. Among those who paid their respects were Union ministers. amit shah, Nitin GadkariMaharastra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Images showed people gathering in large numbers outside the grounds. Meanwhile, Vidip Dilip Jadhav, personal security officer (PSO) of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, was buried last night with full state honors in his native village of Satara.

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Recovered Black Box: The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati runway has been recovered, the Ministry of Civil Aviation reported today. The ministry in a post on X said the investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is progressing rapidly. “The investigation is progressing rapidly and the black box from the ill-fated plane has been recovered,” the post said.

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