Authorities will perform the final rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar today in Baramati, his political bastion, following his tragic death in a plane crash. The ceremony will be conducted with full state honours.
Authorities have placed Pawar’s mortal remains at the Vidya Pratishtan ground, allowing supporters, party workers and residents to pay their last respects, with a large turnout expected throughout the day.
Senior leaders, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will attend the funeral, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also join the ceremony.
In response to the tragic demise, the Maharashtra government has declared three days of state mourning. During this period, the national flag will fly at half-mast on all government buildings across the state.
A Learjet 45 aircraft crashed near Baramati Airport on Wednesday morning, killing Deputy Chief Minister Pawar and four others.
The aircraft, registered as VT-SSK and operated by VSR Ventures, was carrying Pawar, his personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, flight attendant Pinky Mali, and crew members Sumit Kapur (Pilot-in-Command) and Shambhavi Pathak (Second-in-Command).
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, air traffic control cleared the aircraft to land on Runway 11 at 8:43 AM after the crew aborted an earlier landing attempt. Shortly after clearance, air traffic controllers lost contact, followed by a fire sighting near the runway threshold.
Police have registered an accidental death report, while the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has taken over the probe.
The incident has also renewed scrutiny of VSR Ventures, which faced a similar Learjet incident in 2023 that remains under investigation.
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