Ajit Pawar plane crash: CID questions VSR company officials

The Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department CID on Thursday questioned senior officials from VSR Ventures the operator of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near Baramati on January 28 killing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others reported the PTIA CID officer confirmed the questioning but did not disclose further details as the process was still ongoingThe Baramati crash initially led to an accidental death report being filed at the Baramati Taluka police stationThe case was later transferred to the Pune CID which is examining whether criminal negligence or sabotage contributed to the tragedy The CID had earlier sent a set of questions to VSR Ventures as part of its ongoing probe according to the PTIA preliminary 22page report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB noted that visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level The report also highlighted safety lapses including fading runway markings and loose gravel on the airstrip near BaramatiFamily demands action against VSR VenturesAjit Pawarrsquos son Jay Pawar recently shared a video on social media allegedly showing Rohit Singh owner of VSR Ventures dozing off in the chief pilotrsquos seat during a flight Jay Pawar has called for Singhrsquos immediate arrest and demanded that all VSR Ventures aircraft be grounded until the inquiry is completed as per the PTINCP allegationsNCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar has accused certain parties of shielding VSR Ventures from scrutiny He reiterated doubts raised earlier about the official investigation and claimed the AAIBrsquos preliminary findings vindicate concerns about operational lapses the news agency reportedCIDs focus of probeLast month CID had said that its probe into the Ajit Pawar plane crash in Baramati will examine whether the tragedy was caused by sabotage or criminal negligence reported the PTIThe plane crash had claimed the life of Former Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four othersAddressing a press conference Sunil Ramanand Additional Director General CID said the investigation is being carried out in a thorough and professional mannerldquoThe purpose of the CID probe is to determine whether there was any foul play in the crash It will also examine whether there was any criminal negligence Thirdly the investigation will ascertain whether any criminal act including illegal omission led to the incidentrdquo Ramanand said as per the PTIHe added that once the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB completes its report the findings will be incorporated into the CIDrsquos inquiryEvidence collectedldquoWe have collected several pieces of evidencerdquo the official saidRamanand further stated that if the probe establishes any criminal angle including negligence or sabotage the CID will register a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNSGiven the seriousness of the incident the state government has also written to the Centre seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI he saidwith PTI inputs