Will meet INDIA bloc members in Delhi for discussion on Ajit Pawar’s plane crash in Parliament: Rohit

Pune: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Friday said he would be traveling to Delhi on Saturday to meet the national convener of AAP, Arvind Kejriwal, and other key members of the INDIA bloc, and urge them to raise the issue of Baramati plane crash — in which his uncle and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died with four others — in the Parliament session through their MPs.Rohit said he had sought appointment of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also to discuss the issue. "We are in theopposition and I shall visit Delhi to meet the INDIA bloc members to raise the issue of Ajit Pawar's death in the plane crash at the national-level. I will meet several key members from the opposition, and request them to discuss the issue in Parliament to ensure an impartial probe into the plane crash," Rohit told reporters in the city on Friday.
Rohit travelled from Mumbai to Pune on Friday and went to the CID headquarters for the second time within a span of 10 days. He met the CID officers investigating the Jan 28 Baramati plane crash. He said, "The CID officials had told us the last time that they would file an FIR in the plane crash case once the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) filed its report. The CID officials now told us that the FIR would be filed only after the final report of the AAIB is submitted."The AAIB submitted its preliminary report a few days back. Rohit claimed that another VSR aircraft had crashed in 2023, but till date there had been no final report by the AAIB on it. He said, "If the final report ofa crash in 2023 has not come after three years, how can we expect speedy submission of the report related to Ajit Pawar's plane crash? Therefore, we are trying to get the support of the opposition to mount pressure on the agencies for impartial investigation."Rohit visited the CID headquarters a day after the VSR Ventures owner, VK Singh, was questioned by the investigating officials at the same office. The NCP (SP) MLA said instead of grilling Singh, the CID provided him "VIP" treatment when he was in the office. "The CID officials are under pressure from the same people protecting him," he said.Before coming to Pune, Rohit met deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, the wife of late Ajit Pawar, and the other deputy chief minister, Eknath Shinde, in Mumbai to discuss the same issue. "I met Sunetra Kaki only to give her the updates I have about the plane crash. I also met Shinde. He said his party was also in our support. While we as opposition members are fighting on streets to take up the issue of plane crash, we expect the parties in the govt to ensure that the administration probes the case impartially," he said.