5 minutes of readingBombayUpdated: February 10, 2026 10:50 pm IST
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday alleged the possibility of a conspiracy in the January 28 plane crash that killed then Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, questioning the competence of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) appointed by the state government to probe the incident.
Rohit Pawar demanded that an independent agency, such as the Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Office of France’s National Transport Safety Board or the United Kingdom’s Air Accident Investigation Branch, be asked to investigate the crash.
“After studying the details of the company that provided the flight, the story of the lead pilot and the transcripts of the conversation during the last few minutes of the flight, many party workers along with me came to the conclusion that there could be a possibility of conspiracy here, which killed our leader Ajit Pawar. There should be a thorough investigation into the incident and I do not think the CID is competent enough to investigate the incident which requires third-party expertise,” Rohit Pawar said.
Earlier in the day, Pawar gave an hour-long presentation comprising 54 slides detailing Ajit Pawar’s movements since January 27. The filing also included screenshots of what it said were internal WhatsApp chats from VSR, the company that owned the crashed plane, which referred to the pilot’s alleged drinking problems.
This is the first time since the accident that a member of the Pawar family has publicly alleged conspiracy in the death of Ajit Pawar.
Rohit Pawar also demanded a complete ban on the use of aircraft operated by the VSR group and questioned the state government’s appointment of Arrow Aircraft Sales and Charters Pvt Ltd, which provides aircraft for VVIP tours.
On January 28, hours after the accident, veteran leader Sharad Pawar ruled out any conspiracy. Responding to this, Rohit Pawar said, “His statement was made based on the information that was available within six hours of the incident. The next day, thousands of people were going to come to Baramati and any statement could have created a law and order problem. What he did at that time was correct. But I have worked for 13 days collecting information from various sources and have come to the conclusion that the incident smacks of conspiracy.”
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He added that party leaders had also expressed doubts and that he had discussed the issue with Parth Pawar and Jay Pawar, sons of late Ajit Pawar. He said he had not shared his presentation with Sharad Pawar, but believed the senior leader “would have similar sentiments.”
Rohit Pawar further claimed that Ajit Pawar’s travel plans were changed at the last minute. “Originally Ajit Dada was supposed to travel from Pune to Bombay by car around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. after a meeting of the Council of Ministers. He was supposed to be received by a very important leader. This leader arrived late and the discussion dragged on, causing a significant delay. Due to this delay, the car trip was canceled and a plane had to be booked at the last minute,” he said.
Among the factors he cited as raising suspicion were changes in Ajit Pawar’s itinerary, alteration of the flight schedule and the pilot’s landing despite insistence on low visibility in the use of Runway 11, the plane being taken prematurely to a lower altitude, the pilot remaining silent during the final minutes, discrepancies between the Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s report and air traffic control transcripts and flight radar data being cut off a minute before the accident.
“These factors are interconnected and require detailed investigation,” Rohit Pawar said.
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He also submitted screenshots of WhatsApp messages, which he claimed were from an internal group of the VSR company, showing one Captain VK Singh warning pilots, including the pilot of Ajit Pawar’s flight, against consuming alcohol. “The pilot was punished for three years for his drinking addiction. He had to abandon his training in the United States halfway after being found drunk. I don’t want to slander anyone, but I have lost my leader and my uncle. I have every right to question the circumstances under which he died and demand a trial,” he said.
A six-member team appointed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) is already carrying out a special audit of VSR Ventures. The DGAC is also conducting audits of all non-scheduled aircraft operators in the country in two phases.
