Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar cremated with full state honours; Amit Shah, Gadkari, other top leaders pay their last respects

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar was cremated with full state honours at the Vidya Pratishthan grounds in Baramati on Thursday. His family, supporters, and thousands of mourners bid the senior leader a tearful farewell. 

Several top leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, were among those present on the occasion.

Shah and Gadkari paid their last respects

Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Ramdas Athawale, BJP President Nitin Nabin, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, former Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, and Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh were among the leaders who laid wreaths on Pawar's body. Afterward, Parth and Jay lit their father's funeral pyre.

Family and supporters mourn their leader

Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar and sons Parth and Jay were present during the funeral. Supporters chanted "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" (Long live Ajit Dada) as his body was brought to the grounds. 

Earlier in the morning, hundreds of mourners arrived at Ajit Pawar's residence in Katewadi, his ancestral village, to pay their last respects. People from Katewadi and surrounding villages in Pune district, along with NCP workers, gathered outside the residence and chanted "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" (Long live Ajit Dada) and "Ajit Dada Parat Ya" (Please come back). Many mourners recalled his contributions to the region's development, saying, "A leader like him will never be born again."

MoCA initiates immediate investigative mechanisms following aircraft accident 

Following the unfortunate aircraft accident near Baramati, all requisite response and investigative mechanisms were activated immediately by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). MoCA said ensuring a thorough, transparent, and time-bound inquiry remains a top priority.

A team of three officers from AAIB, Delhi, and another team of three officers from the DGCA, Mumbai Regional Office, reached the crash site on 28 January. The Director General, AAIB, G V G Yugandhar also arrived at the site the same day. The investigation is progressing expeditiously, and the black box of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said it remains fully committed to completing the investigation within a defined timeframe, strictly in accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and laid-down guidelines.

The investigation has been initiated in accordance with Rules 5 and 11 of the AAIB Rules, 2025.

Police file ADR, black box recovered

Meanwhile, an official said that the police have filed an Accidental Death Report (ADR) case in connection with the plane crash. Earlier on Wednesday, the government issued a statement detailing the events leading to the crash and Ajit Pawar's death. The plane was cleared for landing after a go-around due to poor visibility, but after finally receiving the clearance, it did not give any readback to ATC, and a fire broke out on the side of the airstrip shortly after. The Civil Aviation Ministry said on Thursday that the "black box" (containing the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder) of the Learjet plane has been recovered.

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