President's helicopter grounds former CMs

Former Maharshtra chief ministers, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde were forced to land immediately after take-off when their chopper came directly in the way of the President's helicopter convoy, said an NDTV report.

Incidentally on the same day, one chopper from the President's convoy had narrowly averted collision with an AI flight at Santacruz airport.

According to the report, the two politicians on their way to Newase, Ahmednagar, to attend a function, boarded a private helicopter from the Mahalaxmi Race course helipad.

However, the helicopter was asked to come down within a minute after take-off as the authorities realised that it would come directly in the way of the President's convoy, which had already left INS Shikara.

Both former CMs were stranded for almost an hour, the report added.