MUMBAI/PUNE: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday demanded that civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu step down from his post until the probe into the Baramati air crash that killed Ajit Pawar is completed.Rohit, the nephew of late Ajit Pawar, alleged VSR Ventures, the charter company that operated the Learjet aircraft involved in the crash, was being protected. Five people including Pawar died in the accident. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is expected to release a preliminary report by Feb 27.
Rohit Pawar alleged that the civil aviation minister and his party, TDP, were close to the owners of VSR Ventures. “Some former ministers from Maharashtra and top TDP ministers from Andhra Pradesh attended the marriage of Rohit Singh, son of VSR owner V K Singh. The company is allowed to operate and top politicians are still using its Learjet planes,” he said. Naidu should not continue as aviation minister on moral grounds, he said, adding efforts were being made to shield the company. He welcomed the move by NCP netas, including Dy CM Sunetra Pawar, to seek a CBI probe.“Many issues I raised have been included in the letter,” Rohit Pawar said, adding the probe must be impartial and its findings submitted to a committee comprising aviation experts and political representatives. On Tuesday, the AAIB said special support has been sought to retrieve data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder of the aircraft.Rohit also said his family had expressed concern about his safety. as he had taken on the “high and mighty”. He further said that if there was a political angle to the accident, it could involve speculation that NCP (SP) might merge with NCP and join NDA, or that Ajit Pawar could quit NDA after such a merger. “Some groups were unhappy with either scenario,” he claimed. Baramati MP Supriya Sule also demanded a “transparent” inquiry into the crash. NCP (SP)’s Jayant Patil said burning of the “black box” was impossible in such accidents and, while the watch and mobiles were recovered from the crash site, damage to the black box was “unbelievable.”
