Neighbours recall ‘smiling, friendly’ PSO Vidip Jadhav killed in Baramati plane crash

Sane said the family learnt about the crash after Jadhav’s mother switched on the television. “It was around 9am when we heard loud cries from next door. Only his mother and son were at home then, as his wife Sandhya had gone to her maternal home in Panvel,” said Sane, who works in a private firm

MUMBAI: “He was always smiling, always greeting everyone,” said Chandrakant Sane, recalling his neighbour Vidip Jadhav, a police head constable and personal security officer (PSO), who died in the Learjet 45 plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday which also claimed the life of deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar.

Thane: MaharashtraÕs Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crashed accident in Baramati Pune Following the death of his bodyguards as well, one of the died bodyguard vidip jadhav was a resident of Kalwa Vitawa in Thane. After the news broke, people were seen gathering outside his house ,in Thane, in Mumbai, on Wednesday, 28/01/2026. photos: Praful Gangurde (Praful Gangurde)

The aircraft (VT-SSK), operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, took off at 8.10 am and crashed while attempting to land at the Baramati airstrip around 8.45 am.

Sane said the family learnt about the crash after Jadhav’s mother switched on the television. “It was around 9am when we heard loud cries from next door. Only his mother and son were at home then, as his wife Sandhya had gone to her maternal home in Panvel,” said Sane, who works in a private firm.

“When we went there, we saw the news of the plane crash on television and realised Vidip was also among the victims. Soon after, local police officers arrived and took his mother and son to Baramati,” he said.

Sane said Jadhav’s mother was in disbelief. “She was unable to accept that her only son was no more and kept frantically switching television channels, hoping for some news that he was alive,” he added.

According to Sane, Jadhav’s last rites will be performed at his native village in Satara district, where his father is currently staying. “We have known him for the past 22 years. We knew he was part of Pawar’s security detail. He had a friendly face, always smiling, and never returned home without greeting us,” Sane said.

Other residents of the locality said the entire neighbourhood was in shock and remained glued to television sets since news of the crash broke.

Jadhav was attached to the special protection branch of the Mumbai police and had been serving as Ajit Pawar’s personal security officer for several years. He was selected as a police constable in 2009, completed his training, and joined the Mumbai police force in 2010.

A native of Satara district in western Maharashtra, Jadhav had been living in Vitawa, Kalwa, with his wife, parents and two children, a 13-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son, for the past 26 years.