Several Maharashtra leaders have questioned the ongoing probe into the January 28 Learjet 45 crash near Baramati that killed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, calling for a fresh, court-monitored investigation. Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh backed Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s demand for an inquiry under a High Court judge, saying doubts persist over the official explanation that poor visibility caused the crash. NCP MLA Amol Mitkari asked for the immediate release of all CCTV footage from Mumbai Airport related to the flight, even before the DGCA’s black box verification report, and raised questions about the number of people on board and eyewitness claims from the crash site. Advocate Rupali Thombre-Patil and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also flagged concerns about an alleged last-minute pilot change and sought a thorough probe into the circumstances.
The crash claimed the lives of pilot Sumit Kapoor, first officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant Pinky Mali, security officer Vidip Jadhav, and Ajit Pawar. Reports suggest the originally assigned pilots could not reach the airport due to heavy traffic and Kapoor was asked to step in shortly before departure. While the CID and DGCA are examining the case, opposition and NCP leaders insist only an independent, judge-supervised inquiry can address unanswered questions about the sequence of events, documentation recovered from the site, and the decision-making around crew changes.
