In a move to work around the Maharashtra police’s refusal to register a criminal case, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar has filed a Zero FIR at a Bengaluru police station seeking a murder investigation into the January 28 plane crash that killed his uncle, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and four others.
A Zero FIR is filed by a police station when it receives a complaint that discloses the commission of a cognisance offence but does not fall under its jurisdiction. In such cases, a Zero FIR is registered and sent to the police station which has jurisdiction over the case.
Ajit Pawar was killed when a Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Private Limited, crashed near Baramati Airport in Maharashtra.
Pawar has launched a loud, sustained, and combative public campaign demanding a criminal investigation into the crash. But the Maharashtra police have declined to register a case.
Rohit Pawar told the Maharashtra assembly on Tuesday that everyone expected that there would be a discussion on the plane crash in the state, but it is unfortunate that there was not even a discussion during the budget session, he said, asserting that there were MLAs who wanted to speak on the topic but were told not to.
Rohit said the police normally begin investigating an incident after an FIR is registered. But in this case, no FIR was registered in the state, he said, asserting that he only wanted justice for his uncle, “Ajit Dada”.
In his FIR, Rohit Pawar contended that the incident was a result of a larger criminal conspiracy aimed at eliminating his uncle.
The material available discloses systematic violations of aviation safety regulations, deliberate falsification of records, gross negligence in maintenance and operations, and a pattern of conduct that directly and foreseeably caused the deaths of those aboard, the FIR said.
At the time of the crash, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 4,915 flight hours, leaving only about 85 hours before the mandatory engine Time Before Overhaul (’TBO’) threshold of 5,000 hours was reached, he charged.
“Despite operating dangerously close to this limit, VSR continued to deploy the aircraft for commercial operations, placing the crew and passengers at heightened risk of mechanical malfunction,” said Rohit Pawar.
Rohit said Ajit Pawar had originally planned to travel to Pune by road on the evening of January 27 with a full motorcade arranged.
“He remained in Mumbai without disclosed reason. The flight itself was delayed by seventy minutes from its original 7 am departure, with no credible explanation provided. The crew initially requested the safer Runway 29 and then, two minutes later, switched to Runway 11, the more dangerous tabletop runway without any apparent operational justification,” Rohit alleged.