NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar, on February 10, 2026, speaks during a press conference and raises questions regarding the death of Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Mumbai. | Photo credit: Emmanual Yogini
Ajit Pawar’s family has expressed suspicion that the plane crash that killed him last month was sabotage and not an accident. At a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday (February 10, 2026), Ajit Pawar’s nephew and NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar raised several questions and sought an independent investigation by at least two international agencies.
He claimed that last-minute changes were made to the itinerary and that the crew was not vetted before the last-minute change. He also questioned whether fuel tanks were illegally carried on the vessel and whether the pilot intended to crash the plane rather than land it safely.
Meanwhile, several NCP leaders met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) and submitted a letter demanding a high-level and court-monitored probe into Pawar’s death.
During his one-and-a-half-hour press conference, Mr. Rohit Pawar claimed that there were discrepancies regarding the timing of the crash in the ATC transcript and the report issued by the Union Air Ministry. He also claimed that the transponder had been turned off a minute before the crash. He challenged the pilot of the plane and asked why the pilot did not say a single word even as the plane was descending and why only the co-pilot said the last words. He claimed that bad visibility information had been given before take-off from Mumbai and questioned why the pilot repeatedly asked for permission to land on the more challenging runway on the table, instead of landing on the free runway, which was said to be easier to land on.
He accused the investigating agencies of a lax approach and claimed that investigations were not being conducted with a sense of urgency. He expressed concern that the slow speed could lead to the possibility of covering tracks.
“Our prime suspects are VSR, Arrow, Sumit Kapoor (pilot). There has been a false statement that the visibility was clear. We believe the DGCA. We have no allegations against the government. But how can a CID probe find out the details when expert opinion is needed? At present the speed of investigation is very slow. Is there no interest in the probe? Will it lead to the possibility of manipulation?” he asked during a press conference at the YB Chavan Auditorium in Mumbai.
“Why was the plane stopped? Where is the craft’s techlog? Where is the craft’s airworthiness report? Who did the routine check? The investigators need to talk to those who had to do all those checks and write all the reports. Where is the CCTV footage from the hangar? There has been no investigation yet. All these things can be properly manipulated,” he said, if not done.
He showed screenshots of alleged private group Whatsapp conversations within the company and claimed the pilot in question had previously been reprimanded for drinking.
Mr. Rohit Pawar claimed that there were serious concerns about VSR, the company that owned the aircraft. “The cockpit voice recording was still disabled. There was a violation of flight duty time restrictions. The techlog was not maintained. The stall warning system was not operational. Was the pilot pressured to arrive at the next location in the afternoon?” he said.
‘Culpable homicide’
Ajit Pawar, Captain Sumit Kapoor with 15,000 flying hours, Co-Pilot Captain Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 flying hours, Personal Safety Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali were killed on January 28 when a Learjet crashed in Pune’s Baramati district.
Mr. Rohit Pawar raised several questions regarding the sequence of events that led to the crash.
According to Mr Rohit Pawar, the original pilots – Sahil Madan and Yash – were allegedly delayed due to traffic. “So how did Sumit Kapoor and Shambhavi Pathak get to the airport? Did they live nearby?” he asked, adding that Pathak had more experience flying the Learjet than Kapoor.
He further demanded that the representatives of VSR be charged with culpable homicide.
According to Mr. Rohit Pawar, Ajit Pawar was scheduled to leave for Pune on the evening of January 27 after the cabinet meeting and his convoy was ready – a fact that could be verified through CCTV footage at Deogiri Bungalow, Ajit Pawar’s official residence.
“However, the leader from East Vidarbha arrived with a file regarding the cancellation of the political consultant’s contract, which delayed the meeting. The flight booking was made late in the night. Ajitdada was scheduled to leave at 7 am but the flight took off only at 8.10 am,” said Mr. Rohit Pawar.
(With PTI inputs)
Published – 10 Feb 2026 22:49 IST