Mumbai | NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday filed a complaint at a police station here against VSR Ventures and its directors in connection with the January 28 plane crash in which his uncle and then Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died.
As the matter is linked to the accidental death report registered at Baramati following the crash, the complaint was being forwarded to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Pune, said a police official.
VSR Ventures operated the ill-fated Learjet-45 plane which crashed in Baramati in Pune district with Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and four others on board. On Tuesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the grounding of four aircraft of VSR Ventures over non-compliance of approved procedures in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations.
Earlier in the day, Rohit Pawar, who has been questioning the circumstances surrounding the plane crash, alleged that the Mumbai police refused to register a First Information Report in the case.
In a post on X, he claimed that "yesterday the DGCA report arrived stating that this accident was caused by the negligence of VSR company".
He along with legislators Amol Mitkari, Idris Naikwadi and Sandeep Kshirsagar went to the Marine Drive police station in south Mumbai to demand registration of an FIR, but when the process to record his statement began, a senior police official refused to register FIR and instead accepted their application merely as a formality, Pawar alleged.
"The conduct of the police has further intensified our suspicion regarding the plane crash. If even after demands by elected representatives from both the opposition and ruling parties the police are discarding the demand to register an FIR, it is unfortunate for Maharashtra," Pawar, who represents the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district, said in the post.
The government machinery appeared to be protecting someone, he alleged, adding that "all those who love Ajit Pawar" would go to the Baramati taluka police station on Thursday morning to press for registration of an FIR.
Notably, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is yet to issue its preliminary report into the fatal crash.
Rohit Pawar, meanwhile, also targeted the DGCA, claiming that it first tried to give VSR Ventures a “clean chit”, only to admit later that the firm flouted safety norms.
Hours after the air crash in Baramati, at 1.36 pm on January 28, the DGCA issued a report stating that during the last regulatory audit conducted in February 2025, no "Level-I findings" were reported against VSR Ventures, he said.
“When Ajit Pawar’s body was taken to the hospital, the DGCA issued the report. It was the first attempt to issue a clean chit to VSR,” the NCP (SP) MLA alleged.
According to Pawar, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu had on January 28 said that there were no safety concerns with the Learjet aircraft operated by VSR Ventures, and all approvals had been granted after a thorough assessment by the DGCA.
“The DGCA’s report (on Tuesday) is a partial success regarding my demand against the company. The special safety audit noticed several non-compliances in approved procedures in the areas of airworthiness, air safety and flight operations. It means my earlier (claims at) press conferences and issues raised then are now admitted by the DGCA,” he said.
He also asked why the remaining aircraft of VSR Ventures were allowed to fly. "All aircraft associated with VSR should be grounded,” Pawar demanded.
He also alleged that some leaders of the TDP, to which the aviation minister belongs, had business ties with VSR Ventures and were attempting to shield the company. “I am going to insist on the resignation of civil aviation minister Naidu," Pawar said.
