NCP MLA Amol Mitkari claims pilot in Ajit Pawar plane crash is alive

NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) MLA Amol Mitkari has made a sensational claim regarding the Baramati plane crash that killed Maharashtra’s former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, alleging that the aircraft’s pilot Sumit Kapoor is still alive.

Describing the crash as resembling a suspense film, Mitkari said the incident continues to raise troubling questions. According to him, Kapoor survived the crash and is currently in California.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report has also, he said, deepened doubts around the circumstances of the crash.

Following the report’s release, Ajit Pawar’s son Jay Pawar shared a video on social media purportedly showing Rohit Singh — owner of VSR Ventures and a pilot — asleep in the main pilot’s seat of a VSR aircraft while in flight. Jay Pawar demanded Singh’s arrest.

Mitkari said the investigation has yet to reach any definitive conclusion, adding that attributing the crash solely to weather conditions would be misleading.

“The aircraft disappeared from radar suddenly. The possibility of tampering during landing cannot be ruled out. There are also questions regarding fuel — which may have caused the engine to shut down mid-air,” he said.

He further claimed that confusion over the number of people onboard raises serious doubts. “Initially, the DGCA stated that six people were on board because pilot Sumit Kapoor was believed to be alive. Later, five bodies were recovered. This suggests Kapoor may not have been on the aircraft at all,” Mitkari said, raising the question of whether Shambhavi Pathak was flying the plane.

He alleged that efforts were being made to shield VSR Ventures and criticised the police for not registering an FIR in the matter. “My questions remain unanswered. Why are other MLAs silent on this issue?” he asked.

The AAIB’s 22-page preliminary report has since been made public, but Mitkari termed it “flawed and controversial”, questioning its credibility. He pointed to what he described as inconsistencies — such as referring to Baramati as a district and suggesting the aircraft struck a tree — while leaving key issues unresolved.

“The conclusions are unclear. The report appears to have been prepared carelessly,” he said.