Rohit Pawar and Ajit Pawar

NEW DELHI: NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar on Tuesday suggested that the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash could have been part of a larger conspiracy, as several questions surrounding the incident remain unanswered.Rohit Pawar made the remarks during a presentation in Mumbai on the air crash that killed Ajit Pawar and four others last month. While briefing on the incident, he said that the circumstances leading up to the crash warranted closer scrutiny.Referring to events prior to the accident, Rohit Pawar said Ajit Pawar was originally scheduled to travel by road from Mumbai to Pune a day before the crash, but the plan was suddenly changed.“Ajit Dada’s plane crash could be a part of a conspiracy. We also investigated certain aspects of the accident. A book mentions that if someone wants to kill a person, the easiest way is to target the driver. The day before the accident, Dada was supposed to travel from Mumbai to Pune by car, and the convoy had also started. But why did he not leave by car? Ajit Dada was also scheduled to meet a senior leader,” Rohit Pawar said.He added that these unanswered questions had raised doubts in the minds of many and needed to be examined thoroughly.Rohit had earlier announced that he would present a detailed briefing on February 10 to address the doubts surrounding the crash. Speaking to reporters earlier, he said people continued to question how and why the accident occurred and that his presentation would focus on these issues.Ajit Pawar was killed on January 28 when a chartered Learjet aircraft crashed while attempting to land at the table-top airstrip in Baramati, Pune district. Four others, including his personal security officer, the pilot, co-pilot and a flight attendant, also lost their lives in the crash. The Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Maharashtra were postponed following the incident.West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee earlier alleged that Ajit Pawar’s death could be linked to a political conspiracy and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation, citing reports that he was considering rejoining the NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar.Meanwhile, the Union government has said that a technical investigation is under way. Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were examining the crash.“The black box has been recovered and is being analysed. The data will be downloaded, followed by a detailed inquiry. A preliminary report will be released after that,” Mohol said, urging caution against drawing premature conclusions.Authorities have said the investigation is being conducted under the AAIB Rules, 2025 and will determine the exact sequence of events, including the role of weather and visibility conditions during the aircraft’s attempted landing.