Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, accompanied by NCP Working President Praful Patel, State NCP President Sunil Tatkare, and State Minister Hasan Mushrif, arrived at Vidya Pratishthan to pay their final respects to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died following a crash landing of a chartered aircraft in Baramati earlier today. Ajit Pawar’s last rites will be performed at 11 am on Thursday at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral. The Prime Minister also spoke to Sharad Pawar to convey his condolences over the tragic loss.
Ajit Pawar, 66, lost his life on Wednesday morning when the aircraft carrying him crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The chartered plane went down near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board, including Pawar’s personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots. The crash took place at around 8.48 am. Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have sent investigation teams to the crash site to determine the cause of the accident.
Pawar was travelling to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over Pawar’s demise through a series of posts on the X platform. "Saddened by the tragic air crash in Baramati, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with all those who lost their loved ones in the crash. Praying for strength and courage for the bereaved families in this moment of profound grief," the PM posted.
In another post on X, PM Modi said, "Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra. His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti."
Earlier on Wednesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SCP) chief Sharad Pawar and his wife travelled by road from their Mumbai residence to Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Government Medical College in Baramati, where the mortal remains of all five victims, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, have been kept.
Ajit Pawar lost his life after the aircraft he was travelling in crash-landed in Baramati on Wednesday. He was heading to the town to address a public rally ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections. The Learjet 45, which was scheduled to depart at 7:00 am, eventually took off at 8:10 am. Air Traffic Control (ATC) received information about the crash at 9:12 am. Members of Ajit Pawar’s family later arrived at the hospital in Baramati to pay their respects.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, citing preliminary findings, indicated that poor visibility may have led to the crash. “We will conduct the investigation in a transparent and accountable manner. Initial information suggests that visibility was extremely poor at the time of landing around 8:48 am. Before landing, ATC asked the pilot whether the runway was visible, and he said it was not. After a go-around, the aircraft attempted to land again. When asked once more, the pilot confirmed that the runway was visible. ATC then cleared the aircraft for landing, after which the accident occurred,” he said.
Meanwhile, VSR Aviation owner VK Singh stated that the aircraft was “absolutely fit” and suggested that dense fog and low visibility could have been responsible for the mishap.