Ajit Pawar death: State funeral to be held today in Baramati

The final farewell to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar will take place on Thursday in Baramati his home turf with full state honours Pawar died in a tragic aircraft accident earlier this weekHis mortal remains have been placed at the Vidya Pratishtan grounds allowing party workers supporters and residents to pay their last respects Large crowds are expected to gather at the venue through the dayPM Modi Amit Shah CM Fadnavis among leaders likely to attendChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several senior leaders from across the political spectrum are expected to attend the funeral Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also likely to be presentMaharashtra observes three days of state mourningFollowing Pawarrsquos death the Maharashtra government has declared three days of state mourning As part of the observance the national flag will remain at halfmast on all government buildings across the stateAAIB takes over probe police file accidental death reportMeanwhile police have filed an accidental death report in connection with the crash while the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB has assumed charge of the investigationAjit Pawar and four others lost their lives when a Learjet 45 aircraft went down near Baramati Airport on Wednesday morning The aircraft registered as VTSSK was operated by Delhibased VSR VenturesCrash moments and past safety concerns involving operatorThose on board included Pawarrsquos personal security officer Vidip Jadhav flight attendant Pinky Mali and two pilots mdash Captain Sumit Kapur and First Officer Shambhavi PathakAccording to details shared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation the jet had received clearance to land on Runway 11 at 843 am after the crew aborted an earlier landing attempt However air traffic controllers did not receive any response from the cockpit following the landing clearanceWithin a minute at around 844 am officials on the ground noticed flames near the edge of the tabletop runway indicating the crashThe incident has once again drawn attention to VSR Ventures which operates a fleet of 17 aircraft The Ministry noted that another Learjet 45 belonging to the same operator registered as VTDBL was involved in a separate landing accident at Mumbai Airport on September 14 2023 mdash a case that is still under investigationWith inputs from Agencies