Ajit Pawar crash wasn’t sabotage, says Devendra Fadnavis; rebuts Rohit Pawar

In his response, Devendra Fadnavis addressed a series of allegations raised by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday ruled out any foul play in the January 28 plane crash that killed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, stating that forensic and technical probes have found no evidence of sabotage, explosives, or pilot intoxication.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Maharashtra assembly in Mumbai, on Mar 25, 2025. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Replying to a detailed debate in the state assembly, Fadnavis—who also heads the home department—addressed a series of allegations raised by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who also filed a Zero FIR about the plane crash in Karnataka after his demand was rejected in Maharashtra.

Fadnavis said Rohit Pawar was concerned about the case but an atmosphere must not be created that others are not bothered. “All of us want a proper probe into the incident. If there is foul play, we will find it out and won’t spare anyone,” he said.

Fadnavis, however, underlined that the police in Congress-ruled Karnataka had no jurisdiction to file the FIR on Rohit’s complaint. “Only when a victim can’t go to the police station can a Zero FIR be filed. The Karnataka police had no right to file the FIR, he added.

“An FIR is needed to set the law in motion. In this incident, an accidental death case (ADR) was registered. If negligence or foul play is established, a charge sheet is sent. If anyone is named in the ADR, the charge sheet is important,” he told the assembly.

Responding to the many allegations levelled about the facts of the case, Fadnavis said there were no traces of alcohol in the breath analyser test of the pilot. He also rejected claims that the pilot was changed at the last minute. Or that there were cans of fuel in the aircraft.

He also said the breath analyser test of pilot Sumit Kapoor and co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak was done about an hour before the plane took off from Mumbai airport and both cleared the test.

He added that the pilots had rested well before operating the aircraft. Kapoor had rested for 36 hours and Pathak had rested for nine days before being assigned to fly the particular flight, Fadnavis said.

The chief minister said the Centre was expected to decide on the demand for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) submits its final report.

Pawar died along with four others when a Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed near Baramati airport while flying from Mumbai.